Mirror Image
by Unknown-de-Mordor
Summary: Naruto's and Sasuke's fate could have been reversed, but what would have done it? As it turns out all it takes is the death of one Umino Iruka. Massive canon divergence. NaruSasu/SasuNaru. Rated M for disturbing, violent, and sexual situations.
1. Chapter 1: A Simple Twist of Fate

**A/N:** Okay, before we start, here's a little list of warnings.

- This is a **NaruSasu/SasuNaru fic**. Don't like, don't read.

- Since this is a massive canon divergence, Sasuke's and Naruto's **characters are necessarily OOC**, although I will try to keep them as close to canon as possible.

- Sakura is necessarily OOC because 1) I don't get her in the canon, so I am going to write her in a way I can understand 2) I always feel that she has so much wasted potential. I plan to make her a more important character later (how that is going to pan out is another story).

- **Disturbing, violent, and sexual situations** ahead. I will give specific warnings in each chapter, but, yeah, if you might be triggered by any of this, please proceed with care.

- The plotline of this fic follows the manga (because I couldn't find the time to catch up with the anime) up to the Valley of the End (around chapter 18 if you want to skip a chunk). After that the plot diverges from the source material quite a lot, but I'm trying my best to incorporate the source whenever I can.

**Announcement:** I do realize that I have just decided to write an epic fanfiction and I have to say I'm freaking out (Ahhhh!). I have the first draft written up to chapter 33 but I don't know if I can make it to the end! So if anyone wants to join in, I'm more than happy to collaborate with you guys.

Also English is not my first language so I have problems with word choices, tenses, and punctuations. If anyone is interested in being a beta reader/editor for this story, please pm me. :)

Without further ado, here we go.

**Chapter 1: A Simple Twist of Fate**

It was the dead of night when Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped into the forest. The forest was quiet, too quiet in fact, like the quietness that only came after a great storm...or before it.

He didn't know which one it was. It could be both.

The shinobi around him worked quietly, marking each speck of blood, each shuriken dropped. All of them avoided him and the small figure standing absolutely still in the midst.

"Naruto," he called out quietly, afraid to disturb the silence, "It is time to go."

Uzumaki Naruto, standing in front of the battered body of his deceased academy teacher, did not reply.

* * *

><p>The news of Umino Iruka's death spread through the academy like wild-fire, although in a hushed, terrified tone. Nobody knew exactly what happened. They only knew that Iruka fought bravely to save a forbidden scroll from being taken by an enemy ninja. They knew the culprit was apprehended. They didn't know that it was Mizuki that killed Iruka. They didn't know that it was Naruto who beat Mizuki half-dead.<p>

They also didn't know that Mizuki would have been dead if the jounin didn't stop Naruto. By the time they arrived, the shadow clones were all gone, leaving only Naruto who continued to punch Mizuki even though his right hand was already broken. He had to be pulled off with much kicking, screaming, and crying that seemed to go unheard, so after a while he stopped. Naruto hadn't talk much afterwards except in the Hokage's office when the old man questioned him about the incident. After all he was asked to keep what happened that night only between them.

Not that it stopped Naruto's guilt or anger. Guilt because he was the one that fell for Mizuki's ruse and so dragged Iruka into the whole mess and got him killed. Anger because Mizuki was still alive. Justice hadn't yet been served.

He was allowed to graduate in the light of his ninjutsu ability during the incident. Naruto suspected that it was partly a ploy to calm him down, but he accepted it nonetheless. He was exempted from going to briefing if he did not wish to. He knew it was because everyone, unbeknownst of Naruto's involvement, would be talking about Iruka. He told the Hokage that he was a ninja so he'd do his duty and went anyway.

Probably for the first time in forever, Naruto was grateful for being ignored. Nobody asked him about his right hand, assuming it was an accident from one of his many pranks. They didn't realize that Naruto never pulled a prank that had the possibility of causing him serious harm because it would be too much trouble. He lived alone with no one to take care of him. A broken right hand from a prank was out of question. The convenience of the broken hand was that if anyone asked him why he was quiet, he could always say he was drowsy from the medication. No one did, though.

He sat in the back and watched as Sakura walked past him, bounces in her steps, to the still, dull figure of Sasuke Uchiha. She was trying to chat with him, but the Uchiha kept ignoring her. Naruto didn't understand why the guy had to always be such an asshole to their classmates. The Uchiha was a quiet guy, that he understood, but would it killed him to just acknowledged Sakura's existence when she was so nice to him? She was never like that around Naruto, not that he blamed her in light of Mizuki's revelation.

Actually, it all made sense now. After a decade of not knowing why, Naruto finally had an explanation that made his life thus far understandable even if it was still painful. If Iruka could find the heart to see him as Naruto and not the Nine-tail, why didn't everybody else?

His train of thought was interrupted when the teacher walked into the room to announce their teams. The name Uzumaki Naruto barely registered to most of his classmate. Sakura, though, did. She stood up with a loud "What?" and proceeded to looked for him. She had a hard time doing so since Naruto wasn't wearing his trademark orange jacket that day. It was doused in too much blood to be cleaned, so the Hokage offered him another jacket instead. It was white with small black stripes on the rims and along the sleeves. Although, Naruto wasn't partial to it, he didn't have enough clothes or money to say no.

Catching the sight of him, she frowned. He just gave her his usual face-splitting grin.

He could avoid his teammates at lunch, but he couldn't do so when they came back for the afternoon briefing and was asked to sit in teams. He slid into his seat beside the Uchiha, who took a looked at him from the corner of his eyes and raised the eyebrows at the cast and the sling. Naruto made a face that meant "Fuck off" and proceeded to sit in silence. As soon as their Jounin instructor came, it would be over. They were just supposed to get to know each other then Naruto could go home and rest. This briefing was more exhausting than he first thought.

But their jounin instructor didn't show up, not for a long time, long enough for Naruto to doze off in his seat. Sakura starting pacing after a while and the Uchiha, well, he just sat there like he did for the past several hours. Sakura still tried to chat with Sasuke. Sasuke was still ignoring her. And Naruto was just listening to Sakura's voice with his eyes closed.

The nap gave him enough energy to followed their jounin instructor, who appeared phenomenally late, to a walk way where they sat down and chat. He asked them to introduce themselves and Naruto, knowing he'd be zapped of energy soon, volunteered to go first.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. What I like is instant ramen. What I hate is the three-minute wait," he said. The sentences felt like a lie to him, but he went with them anyway. He wasn't allowed to talk about that night, so he couldn't say he hated Mizuki, hated him enough to want to see him hanged with his body swinging in the wind. He didn't know what he liked, not right now. And his dream. "I want to be the strongest ninja," he blurted out. That was how he felt watching Iruka's body lying in the pool of blood. Iruka died because he wasn't strong enough. If he was the strongest ninja, nobody could ever harm the people important to him anymore. He knew he was probably the weakest in class, but he'd get there somehow.

Sakura looked at him in surprised but didn't say anything. He realized his mistake then. For years he was bragging about a different goal entirely, as late as last week even. Suddenly switching to another would signal to anybody that something was off, so he added, "So I can become Hokage and people will recognize me," and grinned.

The jounin Hatake Kakashi nodded and motioned Sakura to follow. Of course, she liked Sasuke and hated Naruto. It was not a surprise, but he faked a broken-heart expression for her anyway. In truth, he wasn't feeling anything of the sort. He barely felt anything at all, actually. Sakura seemed like a faded presence, so was the Uchiha being all broody and intense. His dream was to kill somebody. Naruto had a vague idea whom it might be. After seeing Iruka fell before his eyes, all he wanted was to kill Mizuki. It was such an all-consuming rage that Naruto knew he could not get out of, not until Mizuki died.

He noticed that Kakashi was looking at him instead of the Uchiha even when his goal wasn't something a thirteen-year-old genin should aspire to. A moment later he noticed Sakura gaping at Sasuke, lost and a little horrified. No, another mistake again. He should have gawked at the bastard or something. He had been too stoic. Stupid medication.

But Kakashi didn't say anything, he simply diverted his attention back to the group. "Right, our first mission is supposedly tomorrow." He paused. "But Naruto here suffered a serious injury to his right hand and can't form any seal right now, so it would be unfair to do it right away. I got special permission to conduct the exam next week instead; that is if he could move his right hand at all by that time."

"Exam?" Sakura blurted out. "But I thought -"

"Your Academy exams are jokes compared to what a real genin has to face," Kakashi continued. "To make sure you have any chance of surviving a genin mission at all, we do a survival training. You three will go up against me. If you fail, you will go back to the Academy."

Sakura just gawked at Kakashi not knowing what to say. Naruto knew she wanted to protest. Sakura had been one of the very smart, very hard-working student coming from a civilian family. Graduating and becoming a ninja had been her goal before Sasuke. But if _That Night_ taught Naruto anything, it is that whatever was taught in the Academy was really a joke. Nothing they had seen had prepared them for an enemy that was out for their blood in the deep darkness of the night.

Naruto shuddered slightly. He fought the urge to hug himself. He wouldn't be weak anymore; he swore to that. He would be strong, stronger than anyone.

Again he noticed Kakashi looking at him from the corner of his eyes. It was brief, but there was a flash of something there that irked Naruto. He bet Kakashi knew what happened. He bet he was ready to fail him just so the Nine-tail boy would never become ninja.

No, he wouldn't allow that.

"A week then," Naruto said and nodded. His voice was hoarse even to his ears. Kakashi openly stared at him and then nodded in return. He pulled out a few sheets of paper and handed it to them. They were instructions: time, place, and necessary preparations. Naruto barely read it before they were dismissed.

A week wasn't a long time to heal from a broken hand. It wasn't that bad, but the doctor said he would give it a month with some therapy to ensure that it would be fully functional again. A week was just Kakashi's courtesy so it looked like he gave Naruto a chance. There wasn't a chance for him to use much ninjutsu for this training. Naruto had to come up with something else.

That was why he was on the training field the entire week, testing the ability of his left hand and arm and looking for strategies he could use. Naruto might be dumb, but he wasn't THAT dumb. He knew he had to get prepared if he wanted to pass.

In that following week, he heard news of people failing. Sixty-six percent failure rate, they said. The number only made Naruto worked harder. Some of the days, he noticed the Uchiha on the training ground as well. Sometimes he would stop by to watch Naruto and stayed long enough so he could snort at Naruto's mistake. Naruto just huffed and went back to work.

They pretty much ignored each other until the day of the test. The three of them were there exactly on time without breakfast. He was quite awake, but still pretty groggy from the pain medication. He took a seat on the grass and tried to talk to Sakura as they waited. Sakura, in turn, tried to talk to Sasuke. Sasuke, still as rude as ever, didn't say anything, but he occasionally stared at Naruto's right hand still in the cast and all. Naruto was pretty sure the Uchiha thought he wouldn't make it.

Two hours later, Kakashi finally showed up, giving them a lame excuse about gotten lost in the path of life or something. They all set to work soon after Kakashi confiscated their lunch boxes and showed them the two bells.

Just two.

Naruto swore one was going to be his no matter what.

"Come at me with the intend to kill," Kakashi told them, "or you will fail. You can use the Shuriken if you want."

The intent to kill? Naruto had plenty.

Sakura was clearly very concern. She tried to warn Kakashi that he would come the harm. Naruto wanted to say that the guy was asking for this. Besides, he was a jounin. For new graduates like them, getting close to him alone would be a problem. Getting the bell would be another thing altogether. Kakashi told them this, in that condescending way of his, that made Naruto a little angry.

Just to demonstrate that, Naruto pulled out a kunai with his left hand and aimed it at Kakashi's head. Before anyone could register what was going on, Naruto's hand along with the kunai was bended to the back of his head. The Kunai never got the chance to leave his hand. Sakura gasped. He saw comprehension in her eyes. Yes, they were so going to have problems pinning this guy down.

"I haven't said start, yet," Kakashi said, "And aiming a kunai at a random person is dangerous."

"You're not a random person," Naruto said with a smirk.

Kakashi seemed to ponder what he said a little before letting his hand go. Naruto put the kunai back in place. "All right," he said, "Let's start."

At the word start, Sasuke and Sakura quickly disappeared. Naruto on the other hand simply twisted around. Kakashi quickly jumped out of his reach.

"You weren't going to hide like the others?" he asked. Naruto smirked.

"No, I rather take you down NOW!"

With that shout, he pulled out the shuriken and threw them at Kakashi who didn't even need to dodge them. He simply caught every single one of them. "You really want to kill me," Kakashi said.

"You said I should," Naruto replied.

Kakashi sighed. "There is a different between the intend to kill and the killing," he said; "_You_ know that."

Naruto's hand clenched. "SHUT UP!" he shouted as he launched himself at Kakashi again. This time it was a kunai. He threw one and quickly followed with another in his hand ready to stab Kakashi. He didn't expect Kakashi to move behind him.

"A ninja isn't supposed to be caught from behind," Kakashi said. From that angle Naruto couldn't see his attack, but he felt it in his bottom when Kakashi shouted "A Thousand Years of Death!"

The power of that hit was enough to send Naruto into a nearby pond. Bad landing place... or maybe not.

He didn't really want to use the shadow clone. It reminded him too much of what happened That Night, but he had no choice. He was going to defeat Kakashi. He was going to get the bell. He was going to be the strongest. He couldn't be the strongest if the falter on a little thing like this.

He moved two fingers of his right hand into position to form the seal and followed it with his left hand. He managed to create eight clones. One of them used henge to turn into a big windmill shuriken, the others slightly larger than normal shuriken, which was a damn impressive feat if he may say so. He quickly grabbed them and kicked the bedrock, the big shuriken in hand, and kicked a big rock closer to the surface to send him flying up. There wasn't much time. He didn't have enough power to suspend himself in midair for long, but the few seconds the jump gave him was enough to aim the windmill shuriken at Kakashi before he fell to the ground.

As he expected, Kakashi dodged it easily. He looked at Naruto who was crouching near the pond still trying to catch his breath. "You're full of anger," he said; "Anger will not make you win."

"I know that," Naruto shouted and got on his feet. He was soaked, hungry, and tired, but he wasn't going to stop yet. He jumped and threw two more shuriken. He didn't wait to see how Kakashi deflected them before jumping to Kakashi's left side and threw some more. None of them hit Kakashi, none of that mattered. What mattered was seeing Kakashi's expression when the windmill shuriken turned into Naruto and grabbed hold of Kakashi's back while all the other clone turned back from the littering shuriken and basically jumped Kakashi from all directions. The plan? Dog-pile Hatake Kakashi into submission.

"Did you get the bells?" Naruto shouted down at the clone who was supposed to hold Kakashi under the pile.

The clone shook his head. "I can't feel it," he said.

Yeah, that's the problem of the plan. He couldn't see Kakashi at all. How could he find the bells?

"He's not here!" One of the clone shouted. Well aware that it might be a ruse, Naruto released his clones anyway. No one was there aside from him.

"DAMMIT!" he shouted into the sky. Kakashi used substitution. He should have known that.

Then he saw something shiny under a tree, a bell. On instinct he moved towards it, but then stopped.

Would Kakashi be careless enough to drop it while he got away? Was he that desperate? No, Kakashi had to be better than that. Naruto smirked. He made another clone who walked forward and grabbed the bell. Sure enough, the trap was activated but not before the clone threw the bell at Naruto and Kakashi took it from mid-air.

"Impressive use of clones," said Kakashi pocketed the bell as Naruto stood stunned. His clone had already disappeared into a puff of smoke. It didn't even registered to him that Kakashi just complimented him. He was just angry, so angry that Kakashi just took what he rightfully his from him.

"I got that, BASTARD!" Naruto shouted as he charged in again. Kakashi dodged him easily, like he was dancing while Naruto aimed his fists and feet everywhere in his proximity in hope of hitting Kakashi even once. Before he realized it, Kakashi danced him into a tree. Another trap activated, tying Naruto to the trunk as he kicked and screamed.

"You are too angry, Naruto," Kakashi said patiently. "Your anger is going to become a great liability in the field."

"So? You're going to send me back for that?" he raised his chin in defiance. "I did what you told me to do, sensei. You can't just send me back because I am pissed off. I won't have that!"

Kakashi sighed again. "You really don't understand, do you?" he said. "Your anger have made you blind, give you tunnel vision. You are not able to think clearly at all or you would have come up with a better plan." Then he turned and walked away. "I'll go take care of your teammates while you calm down."

Naruto groaned as Kakashi disappeared into the bushes. He was so close that he had basically touched the bell, but he still couldn't get it. In essence, he wasn't good enough to be a ninja. He let his head hung as emotions overcome him and he stopped thinking, even for just a while.

* * *

><p>Kakashi had the reputation of failing every team he was assigned to, so, naturally, when the Hokage asked for an audience with him over lunch, he assumed that it would go something along the line of 'please don't fail them so hard anymore' despite the fact that the Hokage never implied as such each time he handed in the failed grades.<p>

As it turned out, that was not the case. It even started with an apology from the Hokage. "I know I am asking too much from you this time, Kakashi," the old man said with a sigh. "When the team was originally put together, the circumstance was rather different."

On the table in front of Kakashi was the three files of his students: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto.

Sakura's read like a typical school girl: civilian upbringing, above average intelligence, hard worker, but also easily distracted by fashion and boys.

Sasuke's, on the other had, read like a tragedy: orphaned at the age of eight, traumatized by his psychopathic brother at the scene of the carnage, hyper-intelligent, secluded, single-minded, cold.

Naruto's file was the one that troubled Kakashi the most: orphaned from birth, bullied, a trouble maker, energetic, fierce protector of other children, almost committed a murder.

Sasuke's behaviour is consistent with his history if not a bit over the top. Naruto's was just chaotic.

"He was the one who stole the forbidden scroll," Kakashi stated flatly.

"Due to Mizuki's influence, yes," the Hokage replied and sighed. "He's a lonely boy. There isn't much I can do to make the villagers accept him. Children are very perceptive of their parents' attitude and give him a wide breadth since he got into the Academy. Only Iruka and Mizuki seemed invested in him."

"Essentially, he has no family, no friends, no one to give him guidance except you," said Kakashi. It was no secret that the fox boy met up with the Hokage often, mostly from the troubles he caused. "With Iruka's death, you're afraid he will become secluded and unstable."

The Hokage sipped his tea and, for a time, seemed lost in his own thoughts. "I don't think he was ever grounded," he said finally. "He also doesn't take orders very well. He has a problem with every authority figure really."

Kakashi could feel an onset of a migraine creeping up his left temple. "Then why me?" Kakashi asked. He didn't have an excellent reputation on that part, either.

Hokage eyed him. There was softness around his eyes that looked as if he was about to laugh. "Because you are not a slicker for rules either, Kakashi. You know how to see the underneath of the underneath and adapt accordingly. Naruto needs to be able see the underpinnings so he can understand why the rules there. He and Sasuke also need to learn how to move on."

Kakashi understood then why he was chosen for this team. "Very well," he said; "I would gladly be their teacher _if _they pass the test."

"If," the Hokage nodded in acknowledgement. He still didn't tell Kakashi to ease up, so he didn't.

* * *

><p>The alarm rang at noon and Kakashi sighed. Finally, the morning was over. He just needed to retrieve his students from their respective places then he could get something to eat.<p>

Sakura had been exactly as he predicted. She was the weakest of the three in terms of practical techniques, still feeble in mind and body, and the least imaginative. Sasuke was truly a surprise. He had been trained well in ninjutsu and the smartest in its application. His strength was also his greatest weakness as he was too proud for his own good and did not spend adequate time studying his enemy.

As for Naruto, well, Naruto was definitely problematic. He was chaotic and imaginative, leading him to be unpredictable in the use of his techniques. But he wasn't a clear thinker, unlike Sasuke, and he was governed too much by his rage, a rage Kakashi had no idea why it was directed towards him. It might be the thing about authority figure the Hokage told him about, but that in itself was worrisome. If Naruto taking it out on him was a sign of Naruto being emotionally unstable, he might need more help in handling the boy than the Hokage thought.

The thing that alarmed him the most was Naruto's behavior when he came to retrieve him with Sasuke and Sakura. He had expected him to calm down somewhat, but not him cheerily greeting them and whining about his arms going to sleep from being tied up. He mostly tried to get Sakura's attention. He definitely got Kakashi's who did not believe that anyone raging just an hour earlier would be in such a high-spirit shortly after.

But Kakashi didn't say anything about it. He told them what they needed to be told: they failed. They were pathetic and a disgrace. Honestly, Kakashi often wondered what they taught in the Academy that made all the students he had ever encountered such blatant failures. They all took it hard, of course, as he analyzed ever single mistakes they made. They had to realize that being a ninja was vastly different from what they imagined it to be.

Sakura looked about to cry at the end of it, although she was good at asking questions for clarification. Sasuke lost it and tried to attack him but failed. As for Naruto, he shouted and screamed. If he wasn't tie up to a tree, he would probably attack Kakashi, too. He was seething but also processing what Kakashi had said. Out of the three, Naruto seemed to be the closest to understanding what it really takes to be a ninja. He even knew about the Memorial Stone, undoubtedly from visiting it himself. The name Umino Iruka was on it after all. Yet, he could not surmise the purpose of the training.

"I will give you one more chance after lunch," Kakashi said; "Naruto, you don't get to eat anything."

The three of them were stunned. Even Sasuke looked like he needed an answer.

"Of the three, you failed the hardest," he said, "Your tactic is that of a common punk. You are driven almost solely by your emotion. I have told you this before when I left you to reflect on it. I want you to reflect some more in the light of what I just said." Sasuke looked like he was about to protest, but Kakashi turned to him. "You will be tied to a tree as well if you say another word, Uchiha. You and Sakura can have lunch, but don't give anything to Naruto or you will fail. He needs to think."

In truth, Sakura was actually the one who failed the hardest. Her emotions was all over the place and she couldn't even counter him. But he needed to observe Naruto's mood. If the profile was correct, Naruto would be beyond angry with Kakashi. He needed to know what the boy might do.

He didn't wait for Sakura to recovered from the shock or for Sasuke to come up with a protest. He was the rule. He told them that and disappeared, leaving the kids among themselves.

Sakura, as shaken as she was, was the first to reach for the lunch box. Sasuke seemed deep in thought for a while before he reached for his as well. Naruto held his chin high and ignored the growling of his stomach. There was a seething silence again, but he didn't share his thoughts with his teammates.

Kakashi noticed Sasuke watching Naruto as his stomach growled on. Then, surprising all of them, he held his lunch box towards Naruto. "You'll slow us down if you don't eat," he said. Naruto just blinked at him without comprehension.

"But- Sasuke-kun, if Kakashi-sensei -" Sakura began her protest.

"I don't sense him anywhere close by. We'll be all right," Sasuke reassured her as he began to pick a roll up with his chopsticks and held it to Naruto's mouth. "Besides people can't think with an empty stomach. His order is just bullshit."

Sakura coughed at the comment. Naruto, finally comprehending what was going on, opened his mouth and ate the roll.

Satisfied that Naruto was eating, Sasuke picked another roll and ate it with the same chopsticks. Sakura made another distressing sound before she slapped her face two times, picked up her box and chopsticks, and came to stand in front of Naruto. "You can have mine, too," she said as she picked up a bite-size piece of sausage. "You won't get enough from just sharing Sasuke-kun's lunch."

Naruto ate the sausage quickly with a smile. "Sakura-chan's lunch is the best," he said with a wide smile at her. Sasuke rolled his eyes, muttered something about ungrateful dopes, and fed him a piece of sweetened egg. "Yours is not bad either, Sasuke," Naruto said and beamed at both of them. "Thanks."

So much for observing Naruto's handling his anger, but, in all honestly, _this_ was much better than anything Kakashi could have hoped for.

* * *

><p>End Chapter 1<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Team

**A/N: **Since the story starts out pretty slow, I'm going to upload the first few chapters in quick successions. Hope this will give you a feeling of where I'm going with this. :)

Also thanks for the following and review! I've never got one so fast, hehe.

**Chapter 2: Team**

Sakura was elated.

She passed the genin test. She was in the same team as Sasuke-kun. Kakashi-sensei might be creepy, but he was totally cool in his own rather eccentric way. The best part? Kakashi-sensei never passed anyone. They were the very first team. Being tested by the harshest jounin instructor ever and passed was an icing on her three-layer cake.

She went home that evening with bounces in her steps. Her mother asked how her day was and she told her the news. There was much joy and celebration when her dad came in and hugged her tightly, telling her how proud he was.

Her parents demanded the details. Sakura pretty much skipped the part where she fainted from Kakashi's genjutsu and told them mostly about their lunch. With the mention of Naruto, the tension in the room changed. Sakura had noticed this for some time when she complained about Naruto coming after her. She had thought it was her parents' annoyance at her ranting. Sakura did that less and less these days. But this time, she knew it wasn't. She knew it was somehow because of Naruto.

She finished her story and took a sip of the miso soup. The strange atmosphere didn't dissipate.

"Will you still be teaming with Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun, Sakura?" her mother asked. Her voice was strangely strained.

"Yes, Kaa-san. Sensei said the team members were chosen so that we can work on each other's weakness and strength. I'm really looking forward to training with Sasuke-kun!" she answered excitedly.

"Hmm," was her mother's reply as she ate her food. Her father was oddly quiet.

"Tou-san, Kaa-san," she began, "Is there something wrong with Naruto?"

She knew she was onto something when both her parents froze albeit only briefly. "Didn't he annoy you all the time in the Academy, Sakura? He'll probably distract you from your work if he is in the team," said her mother.

"Yeah, he's annoying," Sakura said; "I wish he isn't in the team sometimes, but I think if we have missions, he'll be all right. I mean, when he fought Kakashi-sensei, he was very focused and really giving his all. Kakashi-sensei still won, of course, but Naruto was a good fighter." She didn't tell them, of course, that she barely fought Kakashi-sensei at all. It was embarrassing to know that she was the weakest of the three. That was why she was really puzzled when Kakashi-sensei said Naruto failed the hardest and punished him.

The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that there was something important she wasn't aware of. Like the reason her parents became so tense about her teaming with Naruto, or the reason for Naruto's injury, for instance. But she was perceptive enough to know that they would not tell her not matter what their objection was.

So she played the part of a good, obedient daughter and finished her food.

/***/

Sasuke trudged back into Konoha with rather heavy feet. He stopped for a takeout at a bento shop for dinner and went straight home like always. He shut the door with more force than he should and positively threw the bento on his kitchen table.

Sasuke was frustrated.

He passed the genin test, sure, so were eight others including Sakura who pretty much just fainted all the time. What would a test like that even mean if all it took was to share your lunch with your loser of a teammate. Fighting Kakashi was enlightening, of course. He never fought a jounin before, let alone someone at Kakashi's level. He had researched Kakashi before their meeting and was frankly impressed by the man's track record. Now he had a good sense of what he was supposed to work for. He knew he should start right away.

But he couldn't concentrate and that was the most frustrating thing; he couldn't take his mind off Naruto.

He didn't really know the Dead-last. They just fought each other from time to time since they entered the Academy. Naruto was loud, brash, annoying, frustratingly optimistic. Sasuke had seen him being bullied over and over in the Academy, heard mean and outrageous gossips about the boy among the students and their parents. Still, Naruto remained unperturbed. He put his nose where it didn't belong and got punched or blamed for other people's wrongdoing. Sasuke never understood why he didn't just turn his back on others when they were never considerate to him. Sasuke would have done that many times over.

That was to say he knew Naruto had been through quite a lot, but all those times Sasuke had never known him to be an angry individual, not until today.

The way Naruto fought Kakashi was fueled by pure rage. He had never seen Naruto fight like that, not even when they were positively strangling each other. If anyone was to be fueled by such emotion during a fight, it should be Sasuke, but he had long learnt how to keep his head cool in those situation thanks to a certain idiot.

Then there was his right hand. If Naruto got into a fight epic enough to break a hand, Sasuke would expect Naruto to be talking non-stop about it even if he lost. Naruto said nothing. He was basically out of energy during the briefing, something Sasuke had never thought possible. He trained hard to be able to use his left hand for the test, but Sasuke could always see the strain on Naruto's body as he kept pushing himself further and further. Admirable but also incredibly stupid.

Then there was the message from the Hokage.

Sasuke was sure he wasn't supposed to hear the conversation, but he wasn't quite out of ear shot yet when an ANBU arrived to tell Kakashi and Naruto that the Hokage would like to see them as soon as possible.

They didn't ask what about, but the look on their faces said they shared a knowledge. Naruto nodded and turned to Kakashi, demanding that they go at once. Sasuke was tempted to follow, but this was the _Hokage_'s office for crying out loud. He would be dead if he went around snooping.

So he walked home, trying to get his curiosity under control. It didn't quite work.

Something happened to Naruto, something bad. That was all he could tell. Did one of those people hostile to Naruto beat him up? No, that had already happened, then...

Sasuke's thought stopped at Iruka-sensei. Naruto was known to be fond of the teacher although he was strict to the boy. At least he looked Naruto in the eyes when the boy asked stupid questions, and everyone knew Naruto was an attention whore. He heard that Iruka died just a few days before their briefing. The timeline perfectly coincided with Naruto's injury.

Was Naruto involved in that fight? How? He heard that a forbidden scroll was stolen and essentially the shinobi were in riot to get it back. It might have been a coincidence that Naruto got involved, but Sasuke wasn't a believer in coincidence. One possible scenario was that it was the idiot who stole the scroll, the kind of prank he would definitely pull just to show people that he could. Knowing the Dope, Naruto probably plan to return it to the Hokage in the morning being all smug for bypassing the security. But Iruka found him first. Then-

No, this picture was incomplete. There was something else missing.

/***/

"Mizuki's dead?"

The word that came from Naruto's mouth sounded like pure disbelieve. Hiruzen nodded. "His brain had swollen quite badly. The doctor was unable to ease it even after surgery. We had to let him go," he added.

"Serve the bastard right," was the reply from Naruto. His voice was hoarse and hollowed, layered with anger, and sounded lost.

Hiruzen sighed. "Naruto, do you understand what this means?" he said. His own voice was like that of a tired old man to his ears.

Naruto just looked at him with a blank stare. "That I have avenged Iruka-sensei?" the boy said although he seemed uncertain.

Hiruzen shook his head. "That is true, Naruto. However, Mizuki was a chuunin. Why do you think he wanted a forbidden scroll?"

"To get stronger, of course," Naruto replied with confident. Hiruzen shook his head again.

"He wouldn't even have a chance to learn the jutsu before we found him. What do you think we do to people caught stealing those kind of things?"

Naruto gave him a blank look again. This time Kakashi, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke, "He would have been trialed as a criminal, stripped of his rank, and possibly had his chakra bounded. He wouldn't be a ninja anymore."

Naruto gulped. He looked again at Hiruzen. There was fear in his eyes. "That would not be your fate, Naruto, although I hope you keep that in mind if you ever thought of stealing forbidden scrolls again," he said with a gentler voice. Naruto nodded. "The point is Mizuki's life couldn't have remain the same after he got his hands on the scroll. Mizuki might not be an elite ninja, but he was smart enough to know this. The only reason he would act so brashly is either because he would never be found with the scroll or he would be gone with the scroll. In both cases, he was working for or with somebody. We want to know whom."

Naruto seemed to caught up with them then. "So, if Mizuki's dead, then we don't know who it is," Naruto muttered.

"Precisely," Kakashi said. "You stealing the scroll was the setup by Mizuki, so he could get his hand on the scroll. Mizuki getting the scroll was a way for an outside enemy to obtain Konoha's secret. The underneath of the underneath. If you weren't driven by rage, then Mizuki might have been subdued without threatening his life and we would have learnt the truth - "

"What would you have me do!?" Naruto shouted at Kakashi. He was positively on the verge of tears. "Have you ever watch the person you love got killed? The only family you ever have? I'm not sorry I killed him. Don't guilt trip me!" The last part was shouted to Hiruzen more than Kakashi. The Hokage sighed again and gave a stinky eye to Kakashi. Sometimes the man just had no tact.

"It wasn't my intention," Hiruzen said. "I just want you to understand that there is a bigger picture here. Sometimes an explanation can help ease the pain left behind."

Naruto seemed to have calmed down. He nodded, then asked, "Is there still a way to find out who it is?"

"Perhaps," Hiruzen replied; "They might try again. We have to be ready this time."

Naruto looked at him and nodded. He sniffed loudly and said, "Okay."

Hiruzen walked over and patted the boy's head gently. Watching Naruto being like this broke his heart. If anyone was to be blamed for this boy's suffering, he was sure it was him.

/***/

Kakashi gave them a few days of rest after the test mostly for Naruto's hand to recover from the fight. Naruto might try not to show it, but the pain had come back from overusing. Even Sakura noticed his occasional winces, so Naruto took his order grudgingly but stuck to it. On the fourth day they started a mission because Naruto insisted that his hand was fine again, so Kakashi got them an easy one: a babysitting job. None of them were very appreciative of the choice, but they followed his orders anyway. After all, they knew that Kakashi was serious about punishing them if they stepped out of line.

On the next mission, they helped prepare for a three-day festival in the East part of the village. Sakura had been to this festival before and was talking non-stop, describing the shops she saw. Her attempt to gain Sasuke's attention failed as the Uchiha only focused on building a booth, not that it made her falter.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun would you like to come to the festival with me?" she asked with a wide cheery smile.

His mother taught him that a direct question required a direct answer, so he replied, "No, we have missions." Then he proceeded to put a nail through a plank.

Sasuke looked a little confused. "But the festival goes on at night, too. Maybe we can have dinner and -"

"I don't like festivals," Sasuke said with finality. He put another nail through the same plank and gave it a shake to make sure it was sturdy. "Why don't you ask Naruto? He would be happy to come with you."

Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Naruto winced a little. He was sanding the side of the booth that Sasuke had finished. For a moment, he thought the dope hurt his right hand again, but Naruto was only using his left.

Noticing Sasuke's stare, Naruto paused and said, "Don't be an asshole, Sasuke. She asked you, not me. Don't shove me in her face."

"You shove yourself in her face."

"That's different, bastard."

"Could you two please not talk about me like I'm not here?" Sakura interjected as soon as she finished putting up the street decoration nearby. She sighed. "What if all of us come as team seven, with Kakashi-sensei, would that be fine?"

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow as he turned back to her. She was really desperate to spend some time out of work with him; he could tell. To his surprise, it was Naruto who said, "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I can't."

Sakura looked surprised. She probably thought Naruto was as desperate for her as she was for Sasuke. "Why not?" she asked.

"I... I have training to do," Naruto said lamely.

"Oh, err, okay," replied Sakura. She sighed again and went back to work.

The street decoration she had to put up took her to another side of the street, a good ten meters away, so Sasuke turned to Naruto. "Why don't you just tell her you don't like festivals?" he asked.

Naruto expression was that of a trapped animal. "What do you mean?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He said, "We'd already be training anyway. Taking an evening off is not a big deal. Your excuse is just lame."

"Shut up, bastard. As if yours were fantastic."

"I was honest," Sasuke said and went back to nail another plank to the wooden frame, the last one on this booth. Naruto didn't say anything as he turned back to sanding the rest of his side.

Sasuke finished his work first since Naruto's had to follow after his and there were plenty of street decoration for Sakura to put up. Because of that Kakashi saw it fit to send him for snacks and sodas from the end of the street. Sasuke sighed and took the shopping bag from the Jounin. Shopping duty was not his things especially when mothers and daughters alike would dote and nag him. He got free stuffs sometimes, but it wasn't worth it.

It took him some time to extract himself from a rather forward civilian girl manning the booth for snacks and sodas for the festival workers. When he came back, Naruto was no where to be seen. "He finished his job, so he said he'd like to leave. Said he wasn't feeling well," Kakashi told him when Sasuke asked. It didn't make sense. Kakashi said they had to stay together until the end of the mission no matter whose job got done first and Sakura was still working.

"Why did you let him?" Sasuke asked. It was against Kakashi's usual code, so it had to be something serious. The Dead-last looked fine all day, so it was clearly not his health. Unless... "Did he hurt his hand-"

"No, Sasuke, but it's touching to see that you care," Kakashi said with a face-crinkling smile as Sasuke blushed in embarrassment. "Sakura is almost done anyway. Why don't you take Naruto's share of snack and soda to him and see how he is doing?"

Sasuke could really tell something was up. He just couldn't figure out what, so he nodded and put Naruto's share in his backpack. He finished his share as Sakura finished up her job and took her portion. They parted way shortly after - Sakura thankfully not nagging him about a date - and Sasuke headed over to Naruto's apartment.

Nobody replied after the first knock, the second, or the third. Running low on his patient, Sasuke stepped back and kicked the door with his foot, "Open up, you dead-last," he shouted, probably startling the neighbors. That the dope's punishment for making him wait.

He heard quick footsteps from behind the door before it flung opened. Within was Naruto, half-naked, clearly bathed, right arm haphazardly put on a sling, with a few ugly cuts and bruises on his torso.

"What the hell, bastard?" Naruto growled; "You're trying to get me evicted or something?"

Sasuke just handed him the snack and soda. "Kakashi told me to give this to you," he said.

Naruto blinked at him, at the objects in his hands, then back at him some more. "Uh, thanks, but you can keep it."

Sasuke's temple throbbed. "You moron, I walked across town to give this to you. This is how you show your appreciation!?"

"What do you want me to do!? Bow down at the mercy of the Great Uchiha Sasuke!? Forget it, bastard!"

Sasuke was about to yell something back when a neighbor poked her head out and shouted at them both to shut up or she'd tell the landlord to evict Naruto. Naruto didn't reply to her. He held his chin up and retreated into his room, leaving the door wide open for Sasuke to follow right in and cringed. Naruto's apartment was ... more of a dumpster than anything. The floor was full of... things, some unnamed and unrecognizable. Sasuke was quite reluctant to take off his shoes.

Naruto must have seen this because he said. "Don't bother, bastard. I'm just gonna explain to you why you can keep my share and you can just leave afterwards. The problem is I can't open the soda bottle or the snack bag like this."

Sasuke looked at Naruto's right hand and felt himself a fool.

"Get it now? Now leave, I have to get back to... erm," Naruto's voice trailed off like he didn't know which word to use.

But Sasuke didn't move from his place by the door. He asked, "When did you last clean the room?"

For a brief moment, Naruto looked like he was in distress, but he schooled it quickly. "It's my apartment. I'm not asking for your-"

"A direct question needs a direct answer, Naruto. When. Did. You. Last. Clean."

Naruto looked at his right hand in the sling and scratched the back of his head.

"Figure," Sasuke said. He stepped into the kitchen, his shoes still on, and dropped his backpack on the table.

Naruto blinked at him in confusion, but as soon as he realized what was going on, he grabbed Sasuke's arm with his left hand and shoved him back slightly. "I don't need your pity, bastard. I can handle this when I'm better."

"You'll probably be kicked out of here before that, moron. No wonder they threatened you with eviction. This place stinks," Sasuke said before he asked, "Where are the garbage bags?"

Naruto blinked again and pointed to a cupboard.

Sasuke got himself past the pile of milk cartons and shoved opened the cupboard full of cleaning supplies. It probably took him a good half an hour to clear out all the garbage in the kitchen with Naruto's help and another two hours scrubbing the surfaces within inches of their lives. He threw out everything that expired in the cupboard, much to Naruto's protest, and cleaned the dishes, by the end of a long three hours, the kitchen was a livable space with a floor clean enough to walk on bare feet.

Naruto made them instant ramen, the only carb he had in the house, and topped it with some jerky that Sasuke checked hadn't expired. They ate in silence for the next fifteen minutes in complete and utter exhaustion.

"Em, thanks," Naruto said as he put his chopsticks down. "Next time don't do that, bastard. I don't like being in debt to people, but...yeah... Thanks again."

It was a lousy, offensive way of showing appreciation, but Sasuke, oddly enough, sort of get it. He hummed an acknowledgement before taking the last slurp of his ramen. Instant ramen was all kind of disgusting, but he was oddly okay with it.

/***/

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3: Wave on Wave

**A/N**: It just occurs to me that I should warn you guys about this being really...slow...build for Naruto and Sasuke. These two have way too many issues especially with intimacy, so they are really, really bad at this. Please be patient, folks.

Warning for coarse languages and mention of child abuse in this chapter but nothing too heavy.

**Chapter 3: Wave On Wave**

Kakashi knew the Hokage was going to give him a long lecture, if not having his head altogether, for his decision to continue to the Wave Country despite the fact that their little escort mission was definitely not C-rank. The categories were there so that the shinobi got missions that they could handle and fair pay in return for their skills and time. Doing a B-rank mission under the guise of a C-rank was not worth it... for most cases at least.

After listening to Tazuna's plight, it was hard not to sympathize with the bridge-builder. Of course, he dallied and threatened to abort the mission just to get Tazuna to open up about all the mission parameters upfront. Kakashi knew from that conversation how dangerous the mission was going to be, but they didn't have much choice in the matter.

The safest ways were to get Tazuna either back to Konoha or back to his bridge as soon as possible. Getting him back to Konoha wasn't really an option because the man wasn't loaded enough to get a shinobi team for a B-rank this mission really was. Most likely he was going to go back to Wave Country empty-handed in clear and present danger. He wasn't going to survive this trip, and that would lie heavily on Kakashi's conscience.

His team was divided on this. Sakura wanted them to turn back because they were clearly operating outside the established mission parameters, something she wasn't really comfortable with. Sasuke was indifferent as long as he got to kick some serious asses. Naruto was desperate to get this mission going.

Kakashi could understand why. Naruto was outdone by Sasuke by a wide breadth when the Mist ninjas attacked them. Naruto wasn't thinking fast enough to do more than putting himself between the enemies and Tazuna. Sasuke on the other hand showed great creativity and calmness in handling a fight like this. Naruto looked positively livid when Sasuke checked on him and called him scaredy cat.

To Kakashi's ears, the way Sasuke said it sounded like a tease - a mean one, sure, but still a tease. Kakashi could see that Naruto wasn't taking it as that at all. He took it like a very personal attack. His hand clutched on the kunai as he stared back at Sasuke like he wanted to put the thing through the Uchiha. Kakashi was mainly concerned with how touchy Naruto was, so he reminded the boys kindly that there was the mission they needed to think about to get Naruto's mind off that little jab and back to work.

Both Naruto and Sasuke was well-behaved the rest of the way. Sakura, however, was slightly rattled, so Kakashi encouraged Naruto to stuck by her while Sasuke was mainly to shadow Tazuna. He didn't know if it was the correct decision since Naruto sent stinky eyes Sasuke's way more often than not.

When they crossed the ferry to Wave Country, they thought the hardest part was over. As it turned out, it had just begun.

/***/

By the time they reached Tazuna-san's house, Sakura was basically drained. She, Naruto, and Sasuke-kun had taken turn dragging Kakashi-sensei's limp body with them from the pond where they fought Zabuza. Knowing that a dangerous man like Zabuza was dead had made the burden a little lighter but just barely.

They were greeted by Tazuna-san's daughter Tsunami who graciously setup a futon for their sensei in a room cleaned up for them. Sasuke-kun had been the proper young lord of Uchiha with their host while Naruto... well, he was Naruto. An orphaned boy grown up mostly on his own could hardly be expected to have good manners.

His manner aside, the fact that he was an orphan got her thinking. She had never heard any gossip about Naruto's parents, which was strange for a village like theirs where people generally knew people in their community really well, especially if they were shinobi. They must have been civilians, she concluded. They were probably casualties from the day Kyuubi attacked-

Wait, wait, wait, back up a bit, Sakura. When was Naruto born again?

She didn't know, not precisely. She was born the same year the Kyuubi attacked the village, most of the students in the class were, so she assumed Naruto was born sometimes that year, too. But if her hypothesis on Naruto's parents being casualties of the attack were to be true, she needed to know his birthday.

She waited until Sasuke-kun left to clean himself up before plopping down next to Naruto who was watching over Kakashi-sensei's unconscious form, not that they really needed to do that. They just felt that they needed to do something without imposing on the host. "Say, Naruto," she began. She could feel his eyes watching her. "When's your birthday?"

Naruto stared, then smiled, then positively sported a shit-eating grin. "Ne, Sakura-chan, do you want to go out with me now? Do you finally see that Sasuke-baka in a jerk?," he rambled and leered, not the real leering actually. She didn't know why she didn't see it before then, but Naruto's behaviour, especially around her, was like he was copying a character out of a crappy rom-com.

She hit him in the head and said, "No. And answer my question. When's your birthday?"

"Ow, ow, Sakura-chan doesn't have to be mean like that. And it's 10th of October. Why?"

It was the day the Kyuubi attacked.

Sakura wanted to congratulate her success in forming a workable hypothesis, but then the blue curious eyes reminded her that she didn't give any reason for asking yet. "Well, we're teammates now, right? I thought we might need to know each other a little better."

Naruto's face seemed to lightened up. "Really? Are you going to tell me your birthday, too? Can I get you a present this year?" he said with a wide smile on his face.

Sakura sighed. What did she just do to her life? "It's March 28th," she said. A spark of genius hit her then. "I'd prefer you don't get me anything, but if you do, you have to get a present for Sasuke-kun too, or I will return yours."

"What!?" Naruto positively shrieked. "Does the bastard even celebrate his birthday?"

"Language, Naruto," Sakura reprimanded. She felt like a mother. "And it doesn't matter if he celebrates it or not. A present shows our thoughts for him. And his birthday is July 23rd. Remember that."

Naruto looked at her and huffed. "Okay," he drawled, " if you say so Sakura-chan."

She smiled. Naruto wasn't that hard to deal with after all. "I insist," she said with a wide smile on her face.

Sasuke-kun walked into the room then. Naruto looked at him and said, "My birthday is October 10th and Sakura-chan's March 28th. Remember that!"

"Huh?" was Sasuke-kun's reply. He looked at Sakura like he was accusing her of giving Naruto weird ideas. Sakura just blushed, because technically, she did.

Oh hell, that's a girl's life.

/***/

By the time Sasuke sat down to take his place watching over their teacher, he was relieved to see that Naruto was no longer angry at him. Sure it was days since he teased Naruto with 'scaredy cat', but the boy seemed really hang up on it. Sasuke didn't get it. They called each other names all the damn time, but somehow that one riled Naruto up enough that they could have gotten into a serious fight.

It doesn't make sense and that bothered the Uchiha greatly. He didn't think Naruto was going to be a danger to him if he really did try, but a mood swing like that did not seem normal or healthy. He wondered what Kakashi thought of it because it was obvious that everyone noticed. Their teacher, however, didn't say anything and simply tried to get Sasuke and Naruto to spend the least amount of time with each other, not that Sasuke minded. He didn't like touchy people anyway.

He was glad that whatever was on Naruto's mind had finally cleared, because it would have been really awkward sitting together like this otherwise. Everything was normal again. Naruto was trying to chat with Sakura. Sakura was trying to drag him into a conversation. And he just sat it out, like always.

After being more or less ignored for a good ten minutes after Sasuke sat down, Naruto suddenly changed tactics. "Ano sa, Ano sa, Sakura-chan. Can you explain bloodline limit to me?"

That got Sakura froze in place. She turned and looked at Naruto. "Didn't they cover that in class?" she said.

"Ah, I might have fallen at sleep during class. Long lectures are tiring, you know," Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head. "And I've never seen one until the Sharingan. I didn't think it was that important."

"Baka! Hinata-chan was in our class and she got the Byakugan. Didn't you notice?" Sakura screeched. Naruto just shook his head. He just thought her eyes were different, that was all. "All right. Then let me explain it to you," Sakura said. It seemed that what she could not stand the most was ignorance. "Bloodline limits are special abilities that can be passed down through genetics. When a man and a woman creates a child, half of the genes of the father and the mother combines, so it is possible for a child to have either or both of the parents' abilities. The clan system among shinobi is mainly to preserve these abilities. For example, the Sharingan is a doujutsu passed down in the Uchiha clan, the Byakugan passed down in the Hyuuga clan."

"Wait, wait, does that mean the Bastard has Sharingan, too?" Naruto interrupted as he pointed rudely at Sasuke. Sakura hit him on the head again for his language.

"Being in a clan doesn't mean you'd necessary have the ability, Dope," he interjected. "The gene might not express in an individual if it gets suppressed by other factors. Sharingan, for example, is not expressed from birth unlike Byakugan. Only under special circumstances can Sharingan be 'awakened'."

"Special circumstances?" it was Sakura asking this time. "What circumstance would that be, Sasuke-kun?"

"Tragic circumstances," was all Sasuke dared say, because he didn't quite know himself. If what was said were true, he should have awakened his Sharingan already but he didn't remember noticing anything different in his field of vision. He didn't dare try to recall the memory of that time, either. What happened to his family seemed like a blur of jumbled up emotions, of one image after another. Sasuke remembered waking up the next morning and felt lost, in time and space, like what was left was darkness. He didn't dare shed light to it since.

Something in his expression might have given him away because Sakura didn't ask any further, and Naruto was watching him closely. There was something like pity in his eyes, and Sasuke hated it.

Naruto was probably just as uncomfortable about it as he was since he quickly changed the topic. "Wait, does this means Kakashi-sensei is secretly an Uchiha or something. He doesn't look like you at all, bastard."

The insult tore down the tension and brought them back to familiar territory once again. "No, that's a transplant," Sasuke replied.

"Eeh?" Sakura exclaimed. "Transplant?"

"It was known among the Uchiha that the Sharingan can be transferred to another, usually within the family," Sasuke said;" A transplanted Sharingan can be activated or deactivated at will for an Uchiha. Kakashi can't do that. He had to keep his Sharingan eye closed when not used so he doesn't get double vision, meaning he doesn't have the bloodline limit. He's the first outside the clan I've known to have the eye."

"Ah, right. Usually clans are protective of their bloodline limit, aren't they?" Sakura said with a nod. Naruto just watched Kakashi and frowned.

"If that's a transplant, then something had to happen with the original owner, right?" Naruto asked; "Who gave it to Kakashi-sensei then?"

Sasuke didn't think it was their place to know, although he would loved to find out.

/***/

Naruto was still watching his teacher, deep in his own thoughts, when Kakashi suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. Naruto jumped back on instinct and landed on his bum. He was satisfied to know that Sasuke did exactly the same thing.

"Most likely Zabuza is alive," declared Kakashi in his state of unquestionable wakefulness. Naruto really didn't know how to take that news. Part of him was horrified at the prospect. Another part of him was rather satisfied with it.

Watching Zabuza being taken down by a young hunter-nin was like watching a titan fallen from having an aneurism. It was anticlimactic if not a little sad. You could be so strong and still die from something as little as that? As being punctured by two senbon? Did that still mean Zabuza was strong?

What did it mean to be strong?

But Zabuza was still alive, saved by those senbon that momentarily killed him, so trying to find an answer for this situation was pointless. He focused instead on Kakashi's compliment that he had gotten stronger. Naruto, however, was in no illusion that he was 'strong' yet. Sasuke still outdid him. Sakura was still smarter than him.

When Kakashi said he would train them, Naruto was more than eager. When Kakashi said it was tree climbing, the eagerness ebbed by a bit. But when he fell down from the tree trunk just a meter above ground while Sakura could climb to the branch, the fire was ignited again.

Competing with Sakura wasn't the first thing he had in mind. It was always Sasuke he looked to as the milestone, but this time Sakura outdid even Sasuke himself so Naruto was going to change his aim. He was going to have better chakra control from this than Sakura. Sasuke could just be his loser self.

The problem was that Sasuke wasn't a loser, or at least he didn't stay a loser very long anyway.

"Dammit," Naruto swore as he looked at the mark on the tree trunk. He didn't get much higher from his first try at all. In all honestly, he could have gotten that high just from running full speed up the tree without the use of chakra. He wasn't doing this right. Something was missing big time and he didn't know what.

His eyes fell on Sakura who was sitting, panting from exhaustion, under another tree. She had climbed to the top and back twice already, but Kakashi-sensei said that she should still do some more laps so the control became natural, and Sakura did so even when she was tired. That was what he liked about her.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," he said in a whisper as he crouched down next to her. "Can you give me some hint?" he asked.

She looked surprised. After all, Naruto of the Academy years would have bailed the whole thing by now. The current Naruto wasn't going to, not when Zabuza was out there for him to beat. "Well, climbing the tree requires a precise amount of chakra like Kakashi-sensei said," Sakura-chan began. "Since chakra is tied to your life energy, it is also tied to your emotion. If you get excited, your chakra control would get worse. So you have to be calm from start to finish. You can't worry too much about where you are going. You only have to focus on the steps you are taking."

Naruto blinked. "If I don't worry about where I'm going then how am I going to get there?" he asked.

Sakura sighed, thought about it for a moment, then said, "Fine, you still have to know where you are going, but you can't rush it. You are not just running to your goal as fast as you can, Naruto. You have to do it the right way, too. So if your first try you can only do two steps then fine. Just be sure your feet stuck to the tree the entire two steps."

Naruto listened, then nodded slowly, "So you're saying I should focus on the tree?"

Sakura looked like she wanted to collapse for some reason, but then she sighed and said, "Yeah, focus on the tree. Your feet had to stick to the tree the whole time or it doesn't count no matter how high you can go."

"Got it! Thanks, Sakura-chan," he said with a big smile as he got up. "And, erm, Sakura-chan. If you want to do some stamina training, jogging is a good start. Or I think so anyway. Hehe." He had to quickly run away afterward because he was feeling a little too awkward. He liked Sakura, liked her a hell lot, but he didn't quite know what to do around her when he wasn't trying to flirt.

He went back to the tree, looked up at the marks he had done, decided that they were all bullshit, and began to concentrate on his feet. 'Focus on the tree not the mark. Make sure my feet stick on it,' he reminded himself before taking his first step, broke some of the tree's bark, then another, almost slipped, and then another, now firm and steady. His control wavered after five steps and he had to fall back, but now he knew what was supposed to happen. He knew how to make this work.

"Right, let's do this," and he ran up the trunk with a bit more speed. He gotten easily twice as high as his previous marks before falling back. He didn't miss the wide-eye look Sasuke was giving him from the ground.

This training was definitely worth it.

/***/

When Kakashi returned, Sakura had actually jogged three laps vertically up and down and was about ready to fall face first, Naruto made record height of three times the first marking but couldn't reach it anymore, and Sasuke was clearly very frustrated. Kakashi decided to call it a day.

Tsunami fed them with delicious dinner. Sasuke, who had manners so far, lost it entirely and gorged down the food. Naruto was doing pretty much the same. Even Sakura was eating more than normal, but was still enough of a lady to not fall to the same lack of manner as the boys.

"Sakura did very well, today," Kakashi said after he told Tazuna what they had been up to; "She had even run a few laps vertically. I think she can escort you to the bridge tomorrow after a few laps in the morning. Sasuke and Naruto are progressing, but they'd still need a few more days to train."

"Leave it to the girls for delicate stuffs, huh?" Tazuna said with a few chuckled. Tsunami offered Sakura a congratulation even though she didn't fully understand everything. Inari, Tazuna's grandson, just huffed.

"They are still going to die," the boy said before gorging on some more rice.

"Inari!" Tsunami reprimanded him, but it was clear that he didn't listen to her at all.

"It's okay, Tsunami-san. We understand that he's just a kid," Sakura said with a smile, but her clutch on the chopsticks gave her away.

Everything would have been fine if Inari learned to shut up. "_You_ are just a kid too," he said; "You all are going to die. This is so stupid."

Sakura was positively furious by that point, but Naruto took things into his own hands and threw his chopsticks hard enough to poke Inari's forehead. The boy cried out in pain, but Naruto just huffed.

"Why did you do that!" Inari screamed and started to cry. Tsunami and Tazuna looked horrified at what just happened. Naruto wasn't fazed.

"That's the difference between your kind of kid and my kind of kid, snot-face," Naruto said with anger clear in his voice. "You got poked and you cried like a baby. I got poked and I poke the fuck right back!"

"Naruto!" Sakura tried to reprimand him, but Naruto was on a roll.

"I could have poked your eyes out, you know, and you didn't even try to protect yourself. You just sat there and take it. Who are you waiting for to save you? Your daddy?"

Tsunami and Tazuna looked really horrified now. Inari just screamed, "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

"Fucking right, I don't! I don't want to know your pathetic back story. If you're not man enough to get over it, go fucking die!"

"NARUTO!"

This time Naruto did stop. Everybody stopped. Kakashi made sure that they would. He knew his voice could have that power. That was why he didn't use it often.

"I think you are done with dinner. Go take a walk, please," he said. Naruto didn't argue. He just got up, and got out. The only sound they could hear for the next minute was Inari's sobbing into his mother's side. The tension in the room didn't dissipate. "I apologize for my student's behaviour," he said as he bowed to Tazuna and Tsunami. "He was out of line."

"He was," Tsunami said. Her voice was tight.

"Yes, but Inari was out of line as well," Kakashi said with a smile. Tsunami looked at him sharply. Like all doting mothers, she clearly didn't like him pointing out her child's bad behaviour. "He was the one who said Naruto was going to die first, so Naruto retaliated in kind. Like Naruto said, if anyone pokes him, he pokes right back."

Tsunami was silence for a moment. She said, "He didn't have to throw the chopsticks."

"I agree. That was dangerous. Naruto was trained to throw sharp things since he was smaller than Inari. That could have caused serious if not fatal injury."

Tsumani looked horrified again. So was Inari, who clutched tighter to his mother. "What kind of place is that," she began, "that a child needs to learn to throw things like that?"

Kakashi sighed. "It's sad, but it is this world we live in, Tsunami-san. To become a shinobi, one must train from a young age to fight and endure. Naruto in particular has endured more than most. He never had a family. No one to look after him or dote on him. Naruto only ever have himself and the way of the shinobi. Fighting was all Naruto had ever known, so he doesn't know how to give up or how to cry."

Inari, still by Tsunami's side, was watching him with realization in his eyes. He still didn't let go of his mother. Kakashi was glad he didn't have to.

When he turned back to his students, he found Sakura looking at him. In her eyes was her own comprehension. She was wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes when Kakashi asked, "Sakura, where's Sasuke?"

She whipped to the side. The chair next to her was empty.

/***/

When Naruto started walking, he didn't know where he was going. His legs just took him down familiar path and before he knew it he was at the training ground they were at earlier that day. The marking on the trees was somewhat visible in the faint moonlight shadowed by the bushes overhead.

He pulled out a kunai and threw it at the tree trunk. The kunai hit one of the mark with a satisfying thud. Naruto wasn't the best kunai thrower in his class, but he wouldn't miss a four-by-four centimeters target from just over a meter away.

He walked over and pulled the kunai out of the trunk. Then he heard a rustle of the grass behind him to the right. He flipped the kunai in his hand, twisted around, and threw it.

Sasuke dodged it by three inches.

"What's with you today, Dead-last?" Sasuke said as he pulled the kunai from the ground.

Naruto didn't know what to say, so he stared.

"What? Something's on my face?"

"Why are you doing here, Bastard?" he asked.

"Making sure you don't throw this around too freely, that's what," he replied before throwing it right back. The kunai lodged itself snugly back into the tree.

Naruto grabbed it and pulled it out again. "I don't need a babysitter. Go tell Kakashi-sensei that," he said before putting the kunai back into his pouch. Sasuke snorted in reply but didn't say anything, so Naruto stared at him with narrow eyes. After determining that no one was going to win their silence contest, Naruto broke it. "So, what did Kakashi-sensei say?" he asked.

"He basically told our host in a round about way that Inari started it first. You'll probably get some talking to, but I don't think it's bad."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You're joking."

"No."

"Totally! I said fuck three times and hit Inari in the forehead, and you said I'm getting away with just a talking to? I'm not that much of an idiot, thank you!"

They fell silence again. Sasuke was looking at him like he didn't understand what Naruto was saying.

"What were you expecting the punishment to be, Naruto?" Sasuke asked. He still looked confused. About what was beyond Naruto's comprehension.

"Oh, I don't know. The usual?" A few slap on the face. Things thrown at him. Humiliated. Beaten up. Locked in a closet. None of that sounded like Kakashi's style, actually. Maybe tied to a tree without lunch. That sounded more like him.

Sasuke eyes narrowed now. "What's the usual?" he asked but Naruto just shrugged. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't like to talk about those punishments he got when he was tossed between foster homes or back in the Academy.

"Why does it matter?" Naruto retorted, put his hands behind his head, and turned away. He had learned to take any sort of punishment. He was good at it. Kakashi might be creative but it would be hard to beat the collection Naruto had already known.

He heard Sasuke grunted in frustration before the bastard shouted, "Don't you know how to give a straight answer, Moron?"

"Like you deserve one!" Naruto called back.

Before he knew it, he was already on his back and Sasuke was right on top of him. His pretty face marred with scowl. Naruto threw a punch at him, but Sasuke grabbed his hand. The imbalance of the pressure on his chest allowed Naruto to turn them over. Sasuke kneed him in the stomach. Naruto bit his arm. Sasuke slapped him across the face. Naruto pulled at Sasuke's hair.

It was a graceless fight. They were rolling on the ground like wild cubs. One moment Naruto was getting the upper hand, another Sasuke was beating him. But at least they didn't talk. Naruto didn't want to talk. This was much better than talking.

The moon as already close to setting when they finally collapse beside each other, breathing hard like they just had a spar. They sort of did, but not quite the usual one they had, and Naruto felt much calmer than he did when he got there.

After a moment of them just catching their breath, Sasuke got up and asked, "Going back now?"

The moon was still so beautiful in the sky. For a moment, he thought of lying there a bit longer, but he saw the marks on the tree and said, "Yeah."

/***/

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4: Fighter

**A/N:** Thank you again for the warm responses! I love to hear what you guys think.  
><strong> Gillian<strong> you might hate me later when you realize how slow this build is actually going to be, but I hope I can make it interesting enough that you'll keep reading.

The updates are going to slow down from here, but I'll try my best to be consistent.

**Chapter 4: Fighter**

When Kakashi opened the front door late that night, he found Sasuke and Naruto standing side by side. Sasuke was looking directly at him. Naruto was looking at the ground, hands in his pocket, his right foot scratching his left calf. They were both covered in dirt, scratches, and bruises that told Kakashi they were going at each other just recently.

"Naruto wants to know what his punishment is going to be," said Sasuke without as much as a hello, sorry, or thank you. Apparently, Sasuke was only polite when he needed to be.

Kakashi looked at Naruto who still wasn't looking at him and sighed. "You two go wash and go to bed," he said; "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Naruto."

Naruto looked at him like he didn't know him before, with mouth agape and eyes wide, then nodded and walked obediently passed Kakashi into the house. Sasuke followed a few steps behind with a glare sent to the back of Naruto's head. The furrow of his brow looked like confusion to Kakashi, but it could have been anything else.

He looked at the clock, decided it was too late to deal with these two, shut the door, and went back to his futon.

/***/

Morning couldn't have come fast enough for Sasuke.

He woke up, cleaned up, dressed up, and went for breakfast. Sakura was already there when he arrived. Her smile was a little strain, but she was good at keeping the atmosphere around them light. Tsunami and Tazuna were as gracious as ever. Inari was more reserved, but that was an improvement in Sasuke's opinion.

The atmosphere, however, turned tense when Naruto walked into the room with Kakashi. The blond chanced quick glances at everyone and then proceeded to take his seat in silence. A silence that was just as loaded as the one on their walk back last night. Tsunami looked at Naruto oddly but handed him a bowl of rice. Naruto looked surprised but took it and began eating. Tazuna was just observing Naruto calmly, while Inari avoided looking at Naruto at all cost.

Sasuke turned back to his food and found that he was also observed as well. Kakashi looked at him calmly then smiled before he turned to chat about their plans for the day. Naruto and Sasuke were to train, while Sakura would leave with Tazuna for the bridge.

Tsunami packed them rice balls for lunch like she did the other day. She might not be comfortable with Naruto, but she was kind. Sasuke thanked her as he took the lunch boxes and headed for the door where Naruto was checking his weapon pouch. When Sasuke was about to put on his shoes, Kakashi came by him and whispered, "Try to get him to talk if you can, all right?"

He didn't need to be told whom his teacher was referring. He gave a curt nod to acknowledge that this was his mission for the day. He doubted it was going to be easy. Despite Naruto's tendency to run his mouth, he seemed oddly reserved when it came to things closed to his heart. This would be a challenge, but Sasuke had never been known to back out of one.

Sasuke spent his time on their way to the training ground formulating a plan to make the abnormally quiet Dope speak up. But as soon as they arrived at the training ground, Naruto was back to himself again. He threw insults at Sasuke. Sasuke threw them right back. They were racing up the tree more times than either of them could count - Sasuke winning every one of them, of course. Before the morning passed, they were already sweating, shivering in the cool, humid air of Wave Country.

Figured it was good time to take a rest, Sasuke jumped down from the branch he was on and walked over to his backpack to get his water canteen. Naruto, on the other hand, was trying to concentrate for the next round of run.

"Hey, Naruto!" he called out, causing Naruto to lose his footing and landed face first on the ground. From his gracelessness, Sasuke seriously wondered how he managed to graduate from the Academy.

"What the hell is your problem? Don't you see I'm trying to focus here?" Naruto retorted as he got up.

"Well," Sasuke opened his mouth but nothing really came out. Kakashi told him to get Naruto to talk, but Sasuke just realized right then that he had no plan of action whatsoever. "How was your chat with Kakashi?" he asked in the end.

Naruto stared at him like he had grown a second head. "That's not your problem now, is it?" he replied.

Again, Naruto was shrugging him off, like Sasuke was going to stop at that. "It's bad, then?" he asked.

"...Well, not really," Naruto said after a pause. He went for his pack to get the water canteen as well. "Kakashi-sensei said he's not going to punish me because I did it in self-defense."

"Well, that's good then."

Then there was silence, signalling that the conversation had abruptly ended. Suddenly Sasuke felt inadequate for his mission. He didn't know how to hold a conversation at all. He didn't know how to coax Naruto into talking like Kakashi-sensei wanted him. Despite all the ninjutsu he had learnt, he couldn't even complete an easy information gathering mission.

This was troublesome.

"Umm...Naruto," he began, not wanting Naruto to just go back to training before he at least get something out of him. "I agree with Kakashi," he said.

Naruto just looked confused.

"I mean, Inari was a brat."

"Yeah, I hear ya."

"And Tsunami and Tazuna are way too lenient with him."

Naruto snorted. "Aren't all parents and grandparents like that, though?" Naruto said; "Not that I know, of course."

Naruto was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes. The self-deprecation was way too obvious for the Naruto he had known in the Academy. He remembered that Naruto was an orphan. Nobody had any idea who were his parents, which was, come to think of it, rather odd. "I guess mothers are in one way or the other protective of their children like Tsunami, but my mother wouldn't let me get away with saying things Inari said," Sasuke said.

"Ah, good for her," Naruto replied but didn't say anything further. Sasuke wanted to kick himself.

"Who raised you, Naruto?"

The look of surprise on Naruto's face made him realized that the question was way too personal. He wanted to kick himself again for his tactlessness. Sasuke knew how to ask direct questions. His father was a straightforward man. But Naruto wouldn't answer a direct question, so how was he supposed to know what made Naruto reacted the way he did last night.

A part of him wondered if Kakashi assigned this mission to him precisely because he knew Sasuke couldn't do it.

By the time Sasuke was done kicking himself in his own head, Naruto had turned and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You're talkative today, Sasuke. What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on." Too fast. Too suspicious. Bad move. Bad move.

Naruto snorted. "As if I'd believe you, bastard. The great Sasuke Uchiha deigns to talk to the class dead-last is a very common occurrence indeed," he said.

"We're teammates. Can't I talk to my teammate?"

"You don't talk to Sakura-chan."

"She's not here."

"Oh, you don't care about her at all. She adores the heck out of you and you just keep being a dick to her."

"Instead of what? Feign interest in her? She would be in over her head. Do you know what's going to happen to Sakura once the rest of those insane girls realize I talk to her?"

"Don't pretend you care, Uchiha. You don't."

"No, I don't. But at least I'm trying to cause as little trouble for her as possible," Sasuke finished. How the hell did it come to this? Why did every conversation with Naruto deteriorated to a fight, always!? He hated this, hated not being able to get directly to the point and get out.

Naruto just looked at Sasuke like he was completely baffled. "Shit, I didn't know your brain is this screwed up."

"Same could be said of you, Uzumaki," Sasuke retorted. Once he was in a terrible mood, it was harder to stop. "Aren't I doing a favour for you by pushing her away?"

"Yeah? You know what, I don't want to be her second choice, Sasuke. I'd rather take her from you than having you handed her over to me."

Sasuke just looked at him, completely baffled. "You're really crazy," he said. "So you want to compete with me for her like we compete on climbing trees, is that it?"

"It's better if I earn her love than have her pity or yours."

Sasuke just didn't know what to say to that. It made sense, but at the same time it was just insane. "I don't pity you, moron. I don't like Sakura like that so I don't want to encourage her."

"By being a dick."

Sasuke groaned.

"I just don't get it. Everyone loves you, but you don't want them to. You treat those love like trash. I wouldn't do that. Love is too precious for that. But why..."

Naruto's voice just trailed off. He put the water canteen away and just ran off to the tree. Even so, Sasuke heard the rest of it loud and clear.

_Why doesn't anybody love me?_

/***/

Sakura was sneezing quite a lot that morning, must be the cool morning air, but she continued to sit in her place on the bridge watching Tazuna-san worked, listening to the workers' talking. It wasn't good was all she could say, the morale was so low that the only thing that really kept the crew going was Tazuna-san's unwavering belief that this bridge would be for the greater good.

That thought brought her back to the story of Inari's stepfather. Inari wouldn't even stay to listen last night. He went to his room to cry alone for the man who could have been their greatest hope. Sakura was shocked above all else by Gatou's cruelty but also by the inaction of the people. She might not be able to empathize more deeply because she had both her parents alive and well but thinking about losing them was hard enough. Inari was too young to witness all this.

Then again, so was Naruto.

Naruto had no one, but somehow he remained optimistic and full of life. He was aimless, sure, but he was more focus now that they actually had missions. Kakashi-sensei even acknowledged that he improved the most in the group. It was probably because he wouldn't stop, not for anything. She liked him that part of him.

But somehow she felt like there was also something wrong with Naruto. She had never known him to be a bully. He wouldn't hurt another living being just because he could. However, the things he said and done to Inari was... cruel. Sure Inari was a brat, but there wasn't a need to go that far with a kid like that. Naruto had actually broken Inari, that was what Sakura realized this morning when Inari refused to talk to any of them. He reverted to basically clinging his mother's side the entire time.

She sighed. Oh, hell. It was going to be tough to complete this mission to begin with. Bad relationship wasn't going to help it at all.

"Sakura-chan," Tazuna-san said as he walked by, "you looked rather pensive there. Missing your friends?"

Well, at least Tazuna-san seemed to be all right with them. "Well, yes," she replied. She wouldn't actually call the three of them friends, not yet anyway, but they were getting there. Being alone guarding Tazuna-san was boring even when it meant that Kakashi-sensei thought she was that much better than the boys at chakra control (and she was, mind you). "Anything I can do for you, Tazuna-san?" she asked.

"No, not really," Tazuna-san said as he sat down. He was admiring his work even when there was a quarrel over it this morning. The bridge was nothing special in design but Sakura could see that it was a labour of love. It might lack aesthetic appeals but definitely not the heart.

"Say, Tazuna-san. When is the bridge going to be completed?" Sakura asked.

Tazuna-san looked at her with a smirk. "Missing home already?" he said with a chuckle.

"It's not like that," Sakura quickly corrected him. "I mean, I do miss home, but I was thinking of how long will your life be in danger. Because even if Kakashi-sensei managed to defeat Zabuza, Gatou wouldn't give up, right? If it would be for quite sometimes, then you might need to think of a long-term protection or find a way to deal with Gatou."

Tazuna-san looked at her thoughtfully. "You're right, Sakura-chan," he said in a quiet voice. "Even if the bridge is finished, if Gatou's around, it can still be in danger. Gatou hasn't pull out all his cards yet. He still banks on the people giving up on it before he needs to do something really incriminating." He sighed.

"I think killing Kaiza publicly is incriminating enough," Sakura replied with a huff before she realized she might be mentioning something sensitive, but she continued. "I mean, there should have been some retaliation to what he did even then. If a man like that can get away with murder once, he could do it again."

Tazuna-san was quiet then. He looked forlornly at the bridge, still in pieces in various places, and said, "I know hope alone isn't going to be enough." He paused. "But that's the only legacy I know how to give, Sakura. I am not a fighter like you or your sensei. I will see it through that this bridge gets finished, but after that..." He shrugged, stood up, and got back to work. Sakura didn't get a chance to object him that, no, Tazuna-san was a fighter. He might not wield a sword or a kunai, but he fought Gatou back successfully for a long time. He drove Gatou back, but he couldn't do it forever, not alone.

She understood then why Kakashi-sensei seemed to value teamwork above all else. Fighting alone was tiring. She didn't realize it before because she was always surrounded by someone who would fight for her or with her: her parents, her teachers, her friends, Naruto, Sasuke-kun.

She hoped those two were all right.

/***/

By noon, Sasuke was exhausted enough that he was basically ready for a nap.

Naruto wouldn't talk to him, wouldn't take a break, and he was making better and better progress that Sasuke felt like he really needed to improve to keep the distance between him and the Dope. They were running up the trees and fell back down only to run again the moment their feet touched the ground. His focus was on the training so much so that he forgot about his mission for a while.

When they finally took a break for lunch, though, Sasuke was reminded that half a day had gone by and he had made no progress whatsoever in getting Naruto to talk to him. He was half through his share of the rice balls when he decided that to heck with it. He was going to ask whatever he wanted to know.

So he said, "What actually happened to Iruka-sensei?"

Naruto was in the middle of biting on his rice ball and he choked violently on it. Sasuke was about to reach for his water canteen when Naruto downed his own and was finally able to breathe again.

"What the hell, bastard?" Naruto asked. "Where did that come from anyway?"

On hindsight, it was kind of out of the blue, so Sasuke explained, "I figured your broken right hand and Iruka's death wasn't coincident. Whoever killed him hurt you too, right?"

Naruto looked at him like he couldn't comprehend what Sasuke was saying and for a moment. He looked like he was about the talk, but he instead pressed his lips into a thin line. "I can't tell you," was Naruto's reply before he went back to his rice ball.

That reply confirmed Sasuke's suspicion: the Dope had something to do with the entire thing. "Why?" he asked.

"Just can't," Naruto answered; "Don't ask any more, okay?"

So Sasuke didn't. He wanted to but his voice died in his throat when he heard the tremor in Naruto's voice. Naruto didn't cry. He just put down his pack of lunch, grabbed the canteen, and made and excuse to get more water. Sasuke thought of following for a time, but he didn't. It felt wrong to do so when Naruto was clearly grieving, had been grieving, in his silent, tearless way.

For a moment, Sasuke was stuck in a predicament. He could follow Naruto and push him to talk, or he could just let him go, essentially giving up on his goal for the day. Sasuke didn't like giving up. He refused to give up time and time again in his life. That was how he lived. But he still remembered the morning after his parents' death. The people around him asked him questions making him go through the experience over and over. The sympathy and pity in their eyes was a reminder that his life was torn to pieces. All he wanted to do then was hide, but he couldn't. He was an Uchiha, the last of his clan. He couldn't curl up and let the world fell apart around him.

He ate the remaining of his lunch and wondered if that was what Naruto was going through.

/***/

In the evening, they regrouped again at Tazuna's house. Sakura seemed a little pensive as she looked at the torn picture of Inari's family hanging on the wall. Naruto reported his progress and asked for permission to train at night. Kakashi reasoned with him that he needed rest to have productive training but Naruto insisted that he needed extra time. After a long back and forth, Kakashi relented when he realized that his permission was just formality only. Naruto was going to go anyway. So he allowed the boy to train that night, but he had to come back to rest the next evening. Naruto agreed.

Sasuke was probably the most interesting of the bunch. He waited quietly for Kakashi to finish his conversation with Naruto then very quietly asked if they could have this conversation somewhere else. They took a little walk in which Sasuke informed him of how his attempt to talk to Naruto went.

"I could not make Naruto talk to me," he confessed. From the look on his face, it had caused him something to admit it.

"Ah," Kakashi replied thoughtfully, "Why is that?"

"I don't know how to ask questions about sensitive things," the raven boy said; "Naruto also refuses to answer any direct question."

"What direct question?"

"Like why was he expecting a severe punishment, or what happened to Iruka-sensei."

So Sasuke knew about Naruto's involvement in the fight that killed Iruka. Kakashi was out searching that night with the rest of the jounin. He was also one of the first at the scene of the crime, although he didn't handle Iruka's body or Naruto. He knew for a fact that not a lot of people had actually seen the fight and all of them would keep their mouths shut. The fact that Sasuke already made deduction about Naruto's connection to Iruka's death was a testimony to Sasuke's genius.

Despite that, Sasuke was still a child, a grieving child, just like Naruto.

Kakashi didn't say anything for a while as they walked to a waterfront. The sun was setting and the light turned everything a bright shade of orange. He led Sasuke to the end of the walk way where he crouched down. Sasuke came to stand beside him but didn't do the same.

"So you are telling me you completely failed at the task I gave you," Kakashi said.

Sasuke didn't answer, he just looked away. The bang on the side of his face prevented Kakashi from getting a good reading of him from a side glance.

He continued, "I didn't think you would succeed, actually." That earned him a glare from the boy, but he wasn't fazed. "What have you learnt today?"

Sasuke looked surprised. He replied, "That people are difficult?"

Kakashi chuckled. "They always are, aren't they?" he said. "Getting to know someone, to truly see the person, can really be a challenge, and for a long time I didn't think it was worth doing." He turned to face the boy with a smile on his face, knowing Sasuke wouldn't see anything more than his eye. "But for a team to work, you need to know what makes your teammates tick. That also goes for your clients or targets. You can't always brute force your way through. You need to know people to work around them or with them. That ability is an asset as precious as any ninjutsu." At the end of his little speech, he got up and turned to the boy. "I gave you this assignment because, despite all your geniuses, you are practically an imbecile in this area." Sasuke was positively glaring at him now, his fist clenched, but he didn't throw a punch, a good progress in Kakashi's opinion. "But you are quick when you put your mind to something, so keep trying."

He turned to lead them back to the house, but Sasuke stopped him. "Why Naruto? Why didn't you tell me to talk to Sakura or someone else?"

Kakashi sighed. "You're a genius, Sasuke. You know very well why," he said; "Come on. We'll be late for dinner otherwise."

/***/

Dinner was a complete opposite of last night fiasco, although it was still rather awkward, in Sakura's opinion at least. Inari was as quiet as he was that morning, but Tazuna-san was positive cheery and Tsunami-san was warm, even with Naruto who literally poked her son in the head and still left a bruise there.

But she guess it was all right. After all, Naruto and Inari were just kids. They were bound to do and say stupid things and hurt each other. Adults knew that. They would try to get everything back to normal soon, of course.

Except that it felt wrong for Sakura.

It was the amount of effort Tazuna-san and Tsunima-san put into including Naruto in the conversation. Tazuna-san insisted on hearing about Naruto's training even though Sasuke-kun had already delivered a pretty impressive and succinct piece of report about the training. Naruto was just as taken aback by this as the rest of them, but he appeased them with the details anyway.

When he mentioned going out for training that night. Tsunami-san seemed perplexed. "But you just came back, Naruto-kun," she said. It has been Naruto-kun for a while now. "Why don't you rest for tonight and start again in the morning? I'm sure your teacher is okay with that."

Naruto made a quick pleading glance to Kakashi who just chuckled and said nothing else.

"Tsunami's right, you know," Tazuna-san added. "You're not going to be able to beat Zabuza overnight. Let your sensei do the job. You can relax a bit."

From her place on the table, Sakura could tell that Naruto wasn't taking that comment very well and the ripple were going out fast. Tsunami-san and Tazuna-san seemed tense all of a sudden.

"You can say that," Naruto said; "but if I always think that someone was going to save me, when am I going to get up and do it for myself?"

Surprising enough, that comment got a response from Inari, who had been avoiding Naruto's sight like a plague all evening. For the first time twenty-four hours he openly watched Naruto even though it was from the table's edge.

"Now, Naruto-kun," Tsunami-san said. The tone of her voice was that of a mother who thought her child was being unreasonable. "You know very well that running up and down the tree all day isn't going to help you do that."

"Of course, it does," Naruto looked at her incredulously. "Do you know something about shinobi training all of a sudden?"

"Naruto," Sasuke-kun chided, but Naruto wasn't listening.

Tsunami and Tazuna seemed upset by his outburst and rightfully so. Sakura was looking to Kakashi-sensei to stop another fiasco in the making, but he wasn't even paying attention to them.

"Naruto-kun," Tsunami-san began, "how old are you again?"

Naruto was perplexed by this question. "Thirteen," he said.

"See? No matter what your teacher might say, you are still a child, Naruto-kun." At this, Tsunami-san sent a nasty look at Kakashi-sensei. "You won't be able to beat Zabuza's experience or craftiness. Let the adults do our job, all right? It'll be your turn soon enough."

Sakura recognized the tone then. The way Tsunami-san was talking to Naruto reminded her of her mother when Sakura was younger and she just wanted so badly to go camping with Yamanaka family. Of course, Yamanaka family being ninjas meant the camping was actually training time for their daughter Ino. Sakura thought it was so cool that Ino got to train outside Konoha. She tried to convince her parents to let her go with them and fiercely defended her decision. Sakura's mother had sat her down and talked her out of doing it, saying that it would not benefit her to walk into danger like that. If only she knew what Sakura had to go through at a time like this.

Naruto's answer was what startled her. "Oh yeah, because adults have done a _fine_ job so far," he said.

The venom in his voice made her skin crawled. Everyone was taken aback, except for Kakashi-sensei who eyed Naruto quietly from the his seat. She felt a movement under the table and saw Kakashi-sensei's feet kicking Naruto's lightly. Naruto looked at him, but Kakashi-sensei didn't say anything. He just gave Naruto a nod. Naruto huffed, finished his bowl of rice, and got up.

"Thank you, Tsunami-san. I'm off," he said and walked right out of the house.

Tsunami and Tazuna watched him as he left. When the door clicked, Tsunami-san sighed almost in annoyance and got back to her food.

That was when Kakashi-sensei spoke, "He's not the easiest to please, is he?"

Tsunami-san gave him a glare. "You didn't help, either, sensei," she said.

"Well, I try to not interfere with my students' affairs. After all, they are genins. They are considered almost adults in my village."

"They are thirteen!" Tsunami-san almost growled this out at Kakashi-sensei who remained unaffected. She rolled her eyes in disbelief as Tazuna-san watched the exchanged in concern. He was about to say something to Tsunami-san, but she spoke up first, "This is how you treated you children? Leaving them to fend for themselves in danger? Is this why Naruto doesn't believe that adults will protect him?"

Kakashi-sensei took a sip of his tea as he seemed lost in contemplation. He finally said, "Well, Naruto's story is not mine to tell. All I can say is that his is a special case."

Sakura could feel Sasuke's focus sharpened beside her, like a predator that suddenly caught a scent of his prey.

"People deal with the terror in their lives differently, Tsunami-san, " Kakashi-sensei said. "Placating the terror seems to be the practice in this town, so I completely understand your reaction."

They were all gapping at Kakashi-sensei at that point. Tsunami-san looked positively furious as she stood up, ready to take on Kakashi-sensei. Sakura's reaction was to stand up and went into fighting stance beside her teacher.

Tsunami looked at her in surprise before she became resolute. "See that," she pointed to Sakura as she turned to Kakashi-sensei. "Your children rushed right into things like that. They could get themselves killed."

Kakashi-sensei sighed. He didn't budge from his seat, but he put the chopstick down, at last. "You see, that's where the difference is."

Tsunami-san looked confused.

"You see confrontation as dangerous, as something that should be avoided. My kids don't see it as that," Kakashi-sensei said. Somehow him calling them 'his kids' made Sakura's heart swell with pride. "Confrontation is just a part of a conflict. It means something precious is at stake. They jump into the confrontation because they want to protect that precious thing. If they can do that, the danger was worth it." He paused.

She suddenly notice Inari who was sitting still on his chair hunching down like he wanted to be as small as possible. His gaze was firmly on Kakashi-sensei as it was on Naruto before. Sakura could see the gears turning in his head.

Kakashi-sensei continued, "Naruto is a child, therefore he does not know how to react appropriately in a confrontation. He takes extreme measures and hurts others because there is something precious he wants to protect: you. He takes this mission seriously. That is why even when he knows he can't beat Zabuza by training days and nights for a week, he would try anyway." Then he picked up his chopsticks and smiled. "I think it's safe to say that this is just a little misunderstanding. Should we get back to our dinner?"

Tsunami-san definitely wasn't happy with the answer. She huffed and sat back down even though she clearly wanted to say something. Sakura knew there was nothing that could be said. She walked back to her seat and resumed her meal as well. For a moment, she thought of telling them what she thought about Tazuna-san's safety and what it would mean for this town, but she couldn't. She wanted the tension to abate not to be stirred.

So their dinner ended in silence. As always, Inari took his leave and went to his room. Tsunami-san cleaned the dishes. Sasuke-kun cleaned up the table, and Sakura volunteered to dump the garbage outside.

As she turned back from the dumpsite, she was surprised to see Inari there. His hands were behind his back and his eyes casted down as he asked, "Can you teach me how to fight?"

Sakura was surprised to say the least, but soon it was replaced by overwhelming anxiety. Teaching a kid to fight? Well, sure, they were doing that in the Academy for kids of Inari's age, but that was different. She understood the implication of Inari's request; he was going to protect his family himself, or at least try anyway. Sakura wasn't entire sure how to do this. "Umm, I can. but I'm not the best teacher, though," she replied with nervous chuckles.

"But, but you didn't have to train anymore, right?" Inari said, suddenly bursting with raw, nervous energy; "That means you're the strongest, right? Please, Sakura-neesan. I... I don't want to cry anymore."

As he told her that, his tears began to stream down his face. He lifted his hand to wipe it off. It was then that she noticed the torn picture of a man in his hand; the missing picture of Kazai.

She guess she could understand why he needed to fight. She probably couldn't teach him about chakra or shuriken but at least she could teach him to throw a punch. "All right," she said. "Since you ask so nicely and you have a good reason, I'll teach you. Be prepared, Inari. I am not going to go easy on you just because you're a kid."

Inari looked at her in awe then grinned widely and nodded. When the light touched his face, Sakura knew that she definitely made the right decision.

The flood of tears had completely stopped.

/***/

End Chapter 4

**A/N: **Awkward Sasuke is awkward. :D


	5. Chapter 5: Tracks of My Tears

**A/N:** Now you guys know I use song titles for my chapter titles. Because I suck at titles. ** Kezzstar** I'm glad you've liked it so far! I do know my writing needs_ a lot_ of polishing. I'm sure my pacing, phrasing, grammars are all over the place. ** Killua17** Ha, tell me about it! But how would Inari know Sakura isn't the strongest one, right? **crystal .ward ****.9083** Ahh, I'm glad you love it. I hope you like this one too.

**Chapter 5: Tracks of My Tears**

On the seventh day was when it all came to a head.

Kakashi had been prepared for this. He knew Zabuza would attack at the first opportunity he could given the slave-driver Gatou was.

Naruto was drained from training, as anyone would rightfully anticipated, so they left him back at Tazuna's house with Inari and Tsunami. Before they left, he saw Inari putting on a makeshift helmet and strapped on his crossbow. He marched up to Sakura, saluted her, and told her he was going on patrol. Sakura saluted right back and nodded with a wide smile on her face.

Well, he knew Sakura knew a lot about a lot of things, but he didn't peg her to be the teaching type. He was aware of Sakura teaching Inari on fighting and basic combat strategies, but he wasn't sure how serious they were. He could tell from that little exchange that they were dead serious. Fortunately, the seriousness was completely lost on Tsunami who still thought her child was playing soldier.

Oh no, he wasn't playing, but Kakashi wasn't going to tell her that.

It was a nice day. Kakashi was betting on good visibility to spot his enemy from afar. Sasuke was using a lot of his concentration on sensing chakra and Sakura was basically Tazuna's shadow for the day.

It turned out that he didn't need to spot anything, because Zabuza started the attack with the mist.

Zabuza came with the hunter-nin that they thought had killed him, but sure enough Kakashi's hunch about the boy was right. He worked for Zabuza not against him. And he was fast. Aside from Kakashi, the only person who could match Haku in speed was Sasuke, so he left the boys to fight each other off as he took on Zabuza himself.

The mist prevented him from getting a good visual of what was going on with his students. Zabuza prevented him from interfering. He just had to trust them to do their job. They were genins after all. They were nearly adults. And there was always Naruto.

Naruto was a terrible ninja by all standards, but he was the wild card in Kakashi's deck, the one he could bet on to throw their enemies off their game. From the past week, and since the beginning of their mission actually, he had seen how Naruto was able to work with Sasuke despite their contention. The two of them should be enough to take down Haku.

What he wasn't betting on was the Kyuubi.

The mist was too thick to see at that point, but the spike of that dark, sinister chakra threw both him and Zabuza off. Kakashi could almost feel Zabuza's rattling. He didn't know what Kakashi knew about Naruto so it would be confusing. That allows Kakashi to make the move he needed.

Then, just as sudden as it manifested, the chakra dissipated away. For a moment Kakashi was worried that Naruto got himself killed, but his chakra was still there. Whatever was the matter, Kakashi couldn't let it get to him, not as he summoned the nin-dogs to pin Zabuza in place so he could finally kill him.

Killing was Kakashi least favorite part of being a ninja. He doubted it was Zabuza's favorite either. Funny to think that of a monster, but Kakashi just knew. Zabuza could have killed his target in many other ways many times over if he really wanted to, not that Kakashi was going to allow it, but he attempted it only once. However, Zabuza made a great show of fighting Kakashi since their first meeting. He knew he wasn't that much better himself. Funny that it was the killing that dulls the blade, not the aversion to it.

He had to, though, because they were shinobi. Zabuza would not back down, so he wouldn't either.

As lighting came to life on the palm of his hand, he told the man in front of him exactly why he needed to die. From the look in Zabuza's eyes, he knew that Kakashi was doing this for himself. He made a habit of it in his last year in ANBU whenever he could afford to. He rationalized his killing so, he reasoned, both the killer and the killed could be at peace.

His hand didn't went through Zabuza's chest but Haku's. The boy used his great speed to stop Kakashi in the last second with his own body and his own life. For a moment, Zabuza looked just as shocked as he was. But only seconds later, Zabuza grabbed his blade and attempted to cut them both, although his movement was slower than before. They were too drained and injured. The fight would have to end soon, and it would be him killing Zabuza.

Or it would have been so if Gatou didn't show his face on the bridge.

It was a stupid, clearly showing how Gatou had become too egotistic over time. He was too successful and powerful that he thought he was basically invincible. The gang of misfits he had around him were jokers who couldn't take down Zabuza for their own dear lives, not even as injured and near death as Zabuza was. Kakashi just stood there and watched as Zabuza ripped them to pieces and killed Gatou right there on bridge he tried to destroy, for the sake of the boy Zabuza tried his best to not have feelings for.

What an irony.

Another irony was that they might have died from all the thugs let loose by Gatou's death. A side effect of when the head of the gang got killed was the absolute anarchy that came with psychos running rampage. Kakashi had drained all his chakra. He couldn't possibly fight them all off. Naruto might be able to take down some with his shadow clones, but he wouldn't last long. Sasuke, although alive and awake, was too injured to risk engaging in a fight. Sakura had Tazuna to worry about.

It was then that a bunch of people showed up with crossbows and makeshift weapons in their hands. In front of them was Inari and a bunch of kids, all equipped with their weapons. Sakura made a squeal from where she stood. Apparently, she knew this might happen. The people along with Kakashi's and Naruto's shadow clones were enough to scare off the thugs. The ones who didn't run got shoved off the bridge shortly after.

Zabuza died not long after the ruckus was over. His last wish was to see Haku's face again. Kakashi carried him to where the boy lay and watched as the snow fell gently on their bodies and as Zabuza, taking his last breathe, shed a single tear for the only person who had ever loved him.

After that was the clean up, which was just as messy as the fight itself. Kakashi managed to conveniently passed out at that point.

/***/

When Sasuke opened his eyes, it was day again. He had a brace around his neck and so much bandage he probably looked like a mummy. He couldn't move his head around, so he couldn't see who or what else was in the room, although he thought he heard breathing. He opened his mouth to say something, but his throat was so dry all that came out sounded like a hoarse cough.

He heard creaking and foot steps soon before Naruto appeared at his bed side. He looked rather distressed, but when Sasuke muttered 'water' he looked almost happy.

"Right, water," Naruto muttered to himself before pushing back and bend over to turn the lever that pushed the bed up. Sasuke was still inclining when Naruto stopped, but at least he wouldn't choke. "Here," he said as he handed Sasuke's a glass of water, holding the straw right to his mouth.

"I can do that," Sasuke said then cough again. He didn't have the strength to protest when Naruto put the straw against his lips. He just needed water.

"Easy there. The doctor said you shouldn't use the muscles on your neck too much today. They don't want to patch you up again," Naruto told him as he drank. His calloused fingers were right underneath Sasuke's bottom lip. When Sasuke finally let go of the straw, Naruto pulled back, taking away the heat of his fingers. Sasuke didn't know why he noticed that so keenly. He just did.

"Kakashi?" he asked.

Naruto motioned to somewhere beside his bed. "Still unconscious. The doctor patched him up already, so nothing a good rest couldn't fix," he said.

"Tazuna?"

"He's okay," replied Naruto. "The bridge's construction is still on. Sakura-chan and Inari are taking care of him now. You should have seen Inari. That kid barged into his house with his gang when Gatou's men tried to kidnap his mother and fought tooth and nail for her. You can tell he was scared shitless, but he loves his mom too much to back down," said Naruto with a wide smile. "Sakura trained him really good, you know. She'll make an awesome teacher someday."

"Well."

"Huh?"

"Train him well, not good, moron. Learn your grammar."

Naruto scuffed. "Gosh, and you have to be a dick first thing after you wake up."

Sasuke let that slide. He had some snide comeback for that, but his throat wasn't cooperating. "What about you?" he asked.

Naruto seemed surprised that he did. "Well, as you can see, I am _well_," replied Naruto, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

Actually, Naruto seemed more well than well. He didn't appear to have any wound on him, or the scratches from the senbon attacks even. His knuckles were bruised, but that was about it. Naruto looked like he didn't just came out of a major fight. "But you were injured," Sasuke said. Naruto might not have become a pin cushion, but he remembered the boy taking some hits.

"Nah, nothing major. The doctor took care of it," Naruto said with a shrug before looking away.

After a week of watching Naruto, Sasuke knew to read that little gesture as a defensive reaction. Naruto didn't want to talk about it, like he didn't want to talk about a lot of things. Iruka and his upbringing, for example.

"Give me your hand," Sasuke said, stretching out his hand.

Naruto looked at him then to his hand like it was a snake, but complied albeit reluctantly. "I don't know what you're thinking, man. You're weird," he said.

Sasuke just reply with a 'Hn' as he lifted Naruto's hand up to inspect the scratched and bruises. Nothing looked like a mark he saw on his own arm from the senbon. He was sure Naruto got just as many scratches as he did, but there wasn't anything on his skin that said so. It reminded him of Naruto's injury as they came to Wave Country. Naruto cut the back of his own hand to let the poisoned blood out, but he didn't remember that injury when they were fighting Zabuza just days later. Something was not right.

Before he could bring it up, the door burst open and in came Sakura. She looked like she was about to jump him seeing that he was awake, but then she froze when her eyes settled on Naruto's hand in his. It was Naruto that pulled away first. "Sakura-chan," he said cheerily, jumping down from where he sat on Sasuke's bed. His hands went behind his head. "How was today?"

"Everything's great," Sakura replied once she got her voice back. "Tazuna-san will be going home soon, so I thought I should drop by to let you know in case you wanna come back with us."

Naruto looked confused. "But I thought you are here to see Sasuke," he said.

"Well, that too," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She turned to him. "I'm glad you're awake, Sasuke-kun."

He acknowledged her with a 'Hnn'. He didn't know what else to say or do.

Naruto looked between them like he was missing something before he said, "Hey, Sakura-chan. How about I get Tazuna-san home and come back for you later, so you'll get to talk to Sasuke for a bit."

Sakura looked confused for a second then said, "Okay." Naruto smiled one of his bright smile and told them good bye before going out to find Tazuna.

Once the door was closed, the room was silent again. Sakura didn't move from her spot in the middle of the room. She eyed him like he was a serpent ready to bite her. Sasuke sighed. "What's with that attitude?" he asked. Sakura was annoying when she was loud and being cheerful around him, but he didn't think she would be just as annoying being silent.

She looked at him, took a deep breath, and asked, "Do you like Naruto, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke stared at her. What kind of question was that?

Apparently, his silence meant a yes for her. "I'm sorry I interrupt the two of you," she said, looking like she was about to cry. "I guess I should have known since that time that you went after Naruto when he was upset. You wouldn't have done that for someone you don't like, would you? You wouldn't have done that for me." Then she really was crying and Sasuke really panicked, but he didn't know what to do. "I'm sorry... for crying...I'm just... I've liked you for so long... I didn't know you like boys... so I'm upset right now."

Suddenly all the puzzle pieces came together in Sasuke's head. "Sakura, listen to me," he started slowly, "I don't like Naruto."

She shook her head. "You don't have to lie to me. I know there are people who think boys who like boys are weird, but I won't think of you any less-"

"No, Sakura, listen. I really don't like Naruto the way you like me," he said. Sakura's cry was toned down to sobs, but she still wasn't looking at him. "I want to revive my clan, so I can't like boys, can I?"

She looked at him with her red-rim eyes like she had finally comprehending what he just said. "So, you're not, like, going out with Naruto?" she asked.

"No."

Sakura blinked. "But you two were holding hands."

"I was looking at his hands. I can't move my head much right now so I needed to bring his hand to my face," he said. He wasn't used to justifying his action to anybody for a long time, long since his family died.

Sakura looked confused. "But why do you want to look at his hand?"

That was a longer story in which he wasn't sure he wanted to divulge yet, but again, Kakashi never said he had to do this mission alone. "When Naruto and I were trapped in the ice prison, he was attacked just as much as I was. Given that the scratches on my arms haven't healed, his shouldn't either."

"But he was barely injured," Sakura muttered. He could see gears moving in her head, before her eyes snapped to meet his. "The mist was so thick I couldn't see what was going on, but there was one point where there was a surge of really sinister chakra-"

"Sinister?"

She nodded. "I take it that you already ...err... passed out ... at that point," she said. "I'm not good at sensing chakra, but this one I swear was so overwhelming that even Tazuna-san could feel it. Then after a while it was gone. I thought it was Zabuza's, but when you mentioned that-"

"You think it might have been Naruto's?"

It sounded very unlikely. It might have been Zabuza's or Haku's. The mist was too thick that it was impossible for other people aside from Naruto and Haku to know. Since Haku was dead and Naruto wouldn't give a straight answer, they were pretty much in the dark.

Unless, of course, Kakashi knew something about it.

/***/

The worst part about having Kakashi as your source was that he was just about as willing as Naruto when came to answering questions.

"You think I want you to find out Naruto's secret?" Kakashi seemed surprised by this. Sasuke, however, wasn't going to be deterred.

"Why else would you assign me to Naruto? He's clearly hiding something. Even Sakura notices," he replied.

Kakashi looked at him, blinked a few times, and said, "Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you think as such, but that isn't it."

Sasuke was at a loss.

"However, you are right. Naruto has his secret."

"What is it, then?" Sasuke asked. He was getting impatient by the minute.

At this, Kakashi chuckled. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. Naruto's secret is only his to tell. If you can complete my mission, he might be willing to tell you but that is up to him. As it stands now, you're not making progress at all, are you?"

Sasuke scoffed. He didn't want to admit it, but after his failure on their second day in training, Sasuke had resigned to just observing Naruto. It was partly because he needed to focus on the training, but part of it, if Sasuke was to be honest, was because he didn't know what to do without getting Naruto suspicious.

"I think I can read him better now," Sasuke said, trying desperately to defend himself.

Kakashi just shook his head. "In an infiltration mission, a week you waste is another week you can get killed. Not just you but also your team. True that we are allowed to wait, but there are always reasons why that risk must be taken. It was rarely because we don't know what to do."

Sasuke could feel the blood rushing to his face. He looked away, trying to use his conveniently positioned bangs to hide from Kakashi.

It was then that Kakashi motioned him to follow. They went to another waterfront further away from the house so that other people couldn't listen in. Kakashi sat down. Sasuke just stood beside him. This time, though, Kakashi looked at him and told him to sit down. After a moment of hesitation, he obeyed.

"I'll teach you a technique that you might find useful," Kakashi said. Sasuke perked up at the word 'teaching' and 'technique' before Kakashi even finished his sentence. "This technique is potentially dangerous to shinobi, but it is a fairly simple one."

Danger never deterred Sasuke. He was an Uchiha. An Uchiha was not afraid of anything. "What is it?" he asked, already impatient to learn.

Kakashi just kept his eyes on the horizon and said, "It's called empathy."

For a moment, Sasuke's head just went blank. Empathy? That was not a jutsu. Part of Sasuke wanted to call Kakashi's bluff and just get away to vent his frustration. The other part was intrigued.

"I can see you think this is a waste of time already, but hear me out. Empathy is a natural although limited ability in humans. It's there so we can relate to each other and cooperate with one another. It is also an ability that children and teenagers usually struggle with, partly because they have too few life experience in life to understand what is in front of them. Empathy allows us to understand our target's thinking and motivation and so make it easier to predict how they would react in certain situations."

The longer Kakashi was talking, the more intrigued Sasuke became. Understanding the targets and predicting their movements were crucial. And if everyone else in his peer group struggled with it, Sasuke wanted to do it.

"The reason I told you to talk to Naruto is because, as you are now aware, you two shares similar experiences," Kakashi said. Sasuke's anger flared up as he heard the murder of his loved ones trivialized to just an 'experience', but he stomped it down. "I'm afraid I can't tell you much aside from confirming what you already know or deduce. Naruto was the prime witness to Iruka's death. Actually, he was the target. Iruka tried to save him and in the process sacrificing himself for Naruto."

That was in fact a new piece of information to Sasuke. He didn't think the Dope could be the one in danger. He was, after all, an orphan boy with no clan affiliation. It made no difference if he was dead or alive. But this made it worse, because this would mean Naruto _was_ the cause of Iruka's death. Iruka-sensei who was willing to risk his life for a boy who hadn't been anything. Iruka who was willing to sacrifice himself for Naruto for the simple fact that he was Naruto.

"Now I want you to imagine yourself in Naruto's place," said Kakashi. "Imagine what it would be like to live day in day out with the people of Konoha hating you for your bloodline but never said it to your face. You have no one else but one to turn to when the world seemed to assault you from all sides."

Sasuke couldn't help but remembered his mother and her warmth. His mother who would sit by his bed when he was sick and could barely move. His mother who would gently brush the bangs away from his face and told him how proud she was when his father wouldn't. Sasuke used to adore Itachi to bits, but he was nothing like his mother. Her arms were his sanctuary to the world up to the day he was too grown to hide from it any longer.

"Now Imagine losing that person, losing the only good thing you have ever had and being left utterly alone among the hatred and snarls."

Sasuke didn't need to imagine it. He had been there. He had lost everyone whom he loved and ever loved him, including the older brother he once knew. It wasn't hatred that waited for Sasuke in the world, but coldness. No one was there anymore who understood and could console him.

Kakashi went on; "In a way, you are lucky, Sasuke. You have always been one of the top students. You're popular. Everyone showers you with respect and love. You have skills to be proud of. Naruto has none of this. He wouldn't have stayed in the Academy if it wasn't for Iruka. His dream of becoming Hokage was in part induced by Iruka. With that person gone, Naruto isn't only hurting, he is completely lost and alone."

"You're wrong," was the only thing Sasuke could say at the end of Kakashi's long exposition. His voice was shaking. "You don't know me."

Kakashi was silent for a while before he said, "No, I don't. That's the downside to this practice. I can only presume. The only way to confirm what anything is to interact with the person. I can see now that it is beginning to work for you."

Sasuke looked at him, but his vision was blurry. He blinked and felt wet trails forming on his cheeks. He tried to wipe them away because an Uchiha didn't cry.

"It's okay, Sasuke," Kakashi said. "Tears of self-pity are for the weak, but the tears for the tragedies of others... only the strong knows how to shed them."

And so, Sasuke let his tears fall.

/***/

End of Chapter 5

**A/N:** I have a very distinct feeling that I use _irony_ wrongly in this chapter. This is the last chapter on Wave Country. Next one will be the beginning of Chuunin Exam. Things are going to get more intense now especially between Naruto and Sasuke. Stay tuned!


	6. Chapter 6: A Fate Sealed in Red

**A/N:** Finally, the Chuunin Exam! This is where the story begins to really diverge from the canon (still not a complete split at this point, though). I left out the first round of the Chuunin Exam because it is the same as the canon so there isn't a point of retelling it here .Again, thank you so much for following this story. I hope I've made this worth your time. Please leaves comments in the review. I'll be happy to answer your questions if you have any.

** ZyiareHellsing** Thanks, I'm glad you think it's great. I thought it's a bit slow, but at the same time I really wanted to build it up from when Iruka died. Let me know if that works or not. ** Killua17** I don't like Sakura very much either mainly because I really don't understand her obsession with Sasuke. I want to get her off Sasuke's back as soon as I can. I'm not going to bash her, though.

Warning for violent fights and some coarse languages. I don't know how brutal this will be for you guys, but, hey, if you cringe then I've done my job.

**Chapter 6: A Fate Sealed in Red**

His genin were definitely full of surprises.

Not only were they able to complete their first technically B-rank mission safely, skipping C-rank's entirely, but they managed to come out stronger as a team.

Sakura showed a lot of potential in chakra control and genjutsu. He didn't intend to introduce the subject to them just yet, but he and Sakura got into a conversation about genjutsu once during the training week because Sakura wanted to discuss the concept of subterfuge with Inari. She asked Kakashi about what he used on her during the genin test and one thing led to the another. Kakashi ended up explaining the basic of genjutsu to her and she devoured his words like they were the finest meal.

He agreed to give the team a brief lesson during the week they were recovering from the fight. Sakura was able to break the genjutsu first, followed very closely by Sasuke. Naruto, as predicted, was the dead-last of the team.

And typical of Naruto, he was frustrated, and decided to train harder on genjutsu. Again, Sakura exhibited qualities of a good teacher. She patiently explained to him the basics, which Naruto gave his own interpretation to since he couldn't quite grasp it, and she was there to tell him what he was doing wrong.

Sasuke surprised them by offering to train with Naruto. He didn't have to since he was already quite good at it, but Sasuke didn't seem to mind. So he and Sakura took turn trying genjutsu on Naruto while Naruto tried to break from it. In effect, they improved together.

It was not like everything was good and dandy, of course. Sasuke and Naruto still competed a lot. One time it happened on a simple mission that gotten so out of hand that Sakura lost her temper and screamed a loud, powerful scream at them. Both Sasuke and Naruto were in a slight state of shock for the rest of the day.

Another surprise was that Sasuke, instead of going off on his own after missions, started to train with Naruto and Sakura at least twice a week. Kakashi was pretty sure this had something to do with the 'mission' he had given Sasuke. Sasuke didn't report back on his status after their little chat at the waterfront. Kakashi didn't ask him, because he could see for himself that Sasuke was improving. Sure enough, Sasuke was still aloof and viewed Naruto and Sakura as inferior to himself, but he started to take care of them and watch over them during missions.

That, however, did not sit well with Naruto.

Naruto's desire to be strong seemed to outdo every possible logic in his head. The more times Sasuke saved him during missions, the more agitated Naruto became. Kakashi was notified more than once that his student was found on the training ground in the dead of the night past normal time that genin should be up running about by themselves. They talked about it, or more like Kakashi talked and Naruto just watched the ground around Kakashi's feet with his lips pressed together. Naruto offered no excuse and listened to no advice. With the risk of sounding like Nara Shikaku, this was getting really troublesome.

Kakashi had thought that given their similar experience in lost and loneliness, Sasuke and Naruto could balance each other out with Sakura as their barometer for normalcy. That was why he tried to encourage Sasuke to connect with Naruto. Who would have thought that Naruto, desperate for friends and attention as he was, would resist.

Their teamwork fell apart a bit when Sakura and Sasuke had a little row during training when she thought he went too far and he thought she wasn't taking the training seriously enough. Mean things were said and Sakura was upset. Those mean things also led to Naruto jumping into Sakura's defence and ended in him and Sasuke brawling on the ground, pulling hairs and exchanging punches, which also led to another screaming from Sakura. They all went home angry and miserable that day while Kakashi watched them in secret. They didn't try to patch things up afterward although everything seemed somewhat normal the next day.

Then the Chuunin exam happened.

Kakashi nominated his team because he thought they were ready, at least their combined skills should be enough to get them through the second round all right. They also needed a change of pace to get their dynamic back together. Nothing was better than a shared near-death experience.

But then... Orochimaru happened.

/***/

Scouting for potential candidates to the hidden Sound was something he liked doing personally. It was a great thrill to watch so many potential talents rising only to be squashed into nothingness a moment later. When the level of talent he was talking about were entry-level genin, it wasn't much of a surprise.

The tricky ones to assess were the prodigies. It was always a bit of a gamble with them. Child prodigies didn't always turned out to be geniuses. They banked too much on their innate ability that when the well dried up they became lost. Hard-workers were good, but there were always limits to them when came to techniques.

That was why he was always after the second child prodigy in the family. These people were talented on their own rights but also spent their lives working to exceed their older siblings. He had his mind on Uchiha Sasuke when he came in. The boy was, after all, the second child prodigy and the heir of the Sharingan, but after watching the team got ambushed by a team from the hidden Rain, he couldn't help but notice another member of the group, the boy with spiky blond hair. Frankly, the boy was not to his taste, but it was not the look or even the skill that made him notice.

It was his killing intent.

The blond boy was the first to get ambushed when he was forced away from his teammates to take a leak. It was a mistake of the pink-haired girl since she couldn't see the danger of doing so right away. Leaf children. They were so, so naïve.

The second the blond finished his business, a Rain ninja jumped him with ropes with clear intention of capturing him. However, the first moment the rope came down around him, he turned and kicked. The attack he used looked almost random, but then he noticed the stone around the blond boy's feet. One of them was picked up by the chakra on the sole of his shoes and was kicked right to the attackers' groin, causing him to be temporarily immobilized. Two other Rain genin quickly came down from the trees to aid their teammate, but the ruckus also called in the Leaf team. Sasuke, as he would have anticipated, went directly for one of Rain ninja while the blond boy ran to his first attacker, gave him a hard kick in the face that was sure to send him into dream land before grabbing his enemy's kunai and jumped to another Rain ninja retreating to up the trees. The Rain nin hit him down hard. The fight would have ended there if he didn't suddenly create two clones, shadow clones no less, that threw him from mid-air right into his bewildered enemy.

He heard a sick crack of ribs. The Rain ninja flew back into a tree. Two kunai lodged just underneath his ribcage. He couldn't help a smile. That position was very strategic. An injury like that would prevent the lung from inflating fully, making it hard to breath and to recover. The Rain ninja just slid down the tree like a broken rag doll, conscious but unable to move.

"Sakura-chan, let's look for the scroll," the blond boy called out. He went to the genin he just fought with and searched him. Sasuke and the pink-hair girl did the same with two other Rain ninjas. Sasuke found the scroll soon enough, but the girl's scream caught their attention first. The ninja that was out cold during most of the fight regained consciousness and quickly captured the girl to use for bargain.

"Hand us the scrolls, losers," the Rain genin barked. His shuriken awkwardly positioned at the girl's throat.

Both boys froze. Sasuke sent a look the blond's way, but he just shouted at the Rain ninja, "Let her go, you bastard!"

"Don't come any closer or I'll kill her," said the Rain ninja. "Put both scrolls on the ground and back off. Once I reach the scrolls, I'll let your teammate go."

Sasuke was doing just that. He pulled out his team's scroll and was about to place both scrolls on the ground when the blond turned to him and shouted, "Don't you dare do that, bastard!"

"What am I suppose to do!? If anything happen to Sakura, we're done for any way," Sasuke yelled right back.

"As if that sick fucker was going to keep his goddamn word!" the blond shouted again. He was right, but quite frankly the noise was getting a little grating.

The Rain ninja watched their exchange for a while until he deemed enough time had passed. "Enough, you two! Hand me the scrolls or your friend dies," he shouted.

Without warning, a hand came up to grab the hand that was holding the shuriken and bent it up, causing it come right at the Rain ninja's ear instead. Another set of hands pulled away the one around the pink-hair girl, allowing her to crouch down and escape.

That was when the blond turned to the Rain ninja with a smirk on his face. "You forgot my shadow clones, buddy," he said as he walked towards the captured shinobi. When he was within an arm's length, he punched the guy in the stomach hard enough to make him bend over and puke his guts out. "That's for hurting Sakura-chan." Then he gave the Rain ninja another hard kick in the head. "That's for your team attacking mine." But at that point, the Rain ninja was already knocked out probably for hours this time.

"Right, let's go then," said Sasuke, packing away the scrolls. The blond stopped them and talked them into stealing their enemies' weapons. His teammates reluctantly agreed. They made a quick search on their enemies' bodies before taking off again into the forest.

He had to say he was impressed. He rarely saw a boy with that kind of decisiveness at this tender age let alone someone with such ferocity and darkness. He might have just found someone more interesting than even the second-child prodigy Uchiha Sasuke.

He asked his companion who that was. The man pulled out a card and read, "Uzumaki Naruto. He's a genin under Hatake Kakashi. Completed various D-rank mission, one C-rank, and managed to score one B-rank in Wave Country against Zabuza Momochi." Then his companion put the card away. "He's an orphan, notorious in Konoha for being a problem child causing ruckus in the village."

"Is that so?" he said. So that was the rumoured Nine-tail child, the vessel to an unprecedented power. This was getting really difficult for him to decide.

"Frankly, I don't think he is a good candidate," said the man. "Naruto ranked last in the Academy."

"Ah, but you know very well that being book-smart is not everything in a ninja."

"I tend to think that it is part of being a good ninja," the man replied.

"True," he muttered. "Honestly, if I could have both of them, I would take both."

"Taking two candidates from the same team is too risky. It would be harder to assimilate them into Sound completely."

He knew this to be true, of course, but a man could dream, couldn't he? "I'll test them both," he said to his companion, "and I'll decide later. In the mean time, let's keep an eye on their team."

His companion respectfully inclined his head as he said, "Very well then, Orochimaru-sama."

/***/

Sakura really didn't know what to feel. Things happened too fast for her to process. At first, it seemed like they were having a slow start. There was no other team in sight and no sure way to find them. They just decided to get to the tower as fast as they could. None of them expected to be ambushed so quickly or to obtain the scroll so fast. She also almost got killed only mere hours into the test.

But what rattled her the most was Naruto. He didn't flinch when he knifed the Rain ninja midair nor did he hold back when he hit the one that captured her. She could tell that he was angry, but he was just so...

...cold.

They didn't talk much from that point on. With both scrolls in their hands, all they needed to do was get to the tower, but their stamina wasn't enough to do it in one go. Naruto probably could. Sasuke-kun, too. But she was beginning to fall behind and the traps and animals in that forest were too dangerous for her to barge through with dwindling concentration. They decided to rest. Sakura made a mental note to run more often.

Sasuke-kun found them a tree with large root system for protection in the night to come. They set up traps and ate a meal of ration they had thought of bringing with them. Tomorrow they would need to hunt, another task that would slow them down.

As they were about to settle down for the night, drained from the run, it all happened again.

They registered the bomb and took cover quickly but separately. It was a bad move given how easily the other team could take each of them down. The smoke was everywhere, so she decided to remain in hiding at least until everything settled down. Her hand went to the pouch containing one of their scroll and held it tightly. After a brief breathing exercise, she began to calm down. She couldn't panic now. She had a mission to complete and teammates to find.

After a moment of silence, Sakura began moving. She knew they couldn't be far so she crawled from one bush to the next, trying to avoid being seen by the enemies. It was hard to guess what they were trying to do. Stealth and information were key in this case.

She bumped into Sasuke-kun first. He demanded to hear the pass code before she got any closer that two arms length around him. Fortunately, her memory was good enough for a pass code as long as Sasuke-kun demanded it to be.

"Good," he replied as she crawled in beside him. "Scroll?"

She nodded. "Yours?"

He nodded.

She breathed easier knowing that they still have both of them. They just needed to get Naruto and sneaked out of this trap quickly.

"I think he got blown away somewhere in that direction," Sasuke-kun motioned; "He was too slow to dodge."

Would not be the first time, honestly.

"Let's go, then," she said. He began to get up, but she pulled him down. "No, Sasuke-kun. Let's just crawl there. We don't know where our enemies are."

He looked at her then to the ground like he was mulling over something. Sakura briefly panicked that she might have crossed the line with him somewhere. "Okay," he said finally, "let's-"

That was all he managed to say before another bomb went off. It was too close to the bush they were hiding that they had no other option, but to come out into the open. Sakura quickly grabbed her kunai, ready for an attack, but the only person she saw was Naruto.

"What was that?" the loud-mouth blond yelled. Sakura couldn't be more relief, but she was not going to let her guard down just yet. "Naruto, over here," She shouted only moments before Sasuke-kun stepped in between her and Naruto.

"Pass code," he demanded. Naruto sighed and said the code, the entirety of it. On hindsight, she should have known that something was off. Sasuke-kun, a genius that he was, attacked the fake Naruto right away.

The man who replaced Naruto was frightening enough that his mere presence made Sakura scream.

/***/

This was bad. This was really, really bad.

That was all there was in Sasuke's head when they successfully got away from their enemy. There was just one of them, but that one was bad enough to make him want to puke. He was still around; Sasuke could feel him. The air in the forest seemed even thicker than it already was with that presence. His body threatened to shake under the pressure, but he didn't let it. He had Sakura to take care of, and he didn't want to die. He was sure if they got caught again they would certainly die.

The next thought that came to him was to go get Naruto and get out of this place. At least with three of them, they might be able to hold back their enemy if only for long enough to reach to tower.

Or they could offer the scroll their enemy wanted. After all, they already got two and this was just the first day. They could try to find another team to beat afterward. But their enemy wasn't all about getting the scroll, was he? Someone of that skill could just kill them and take the scrolls if he wanted. He was playing with them like a cat playing with trapped mice.

He hated this. He hated this. He hated this.

"Sasuke-kun, snake!"

Sakura's voice made him jump. A giant snake just dropped right in front of them and started coming after him with a vengeance. Fuck it. They couldn't run, not with this kind of creatures around. But what were they going to do. There was no way they could kill the man. They were just genin.

_Foolish little brother,_ came the voice inside his head, deep and rumbling and filled with disdain. _You're too weak._

His eyes went to Sakura. She tried to attack the snake to get it away from him. Finally it was annoyed enough to go after her. She was dodging it very well, until she lost her footing on a branch and slipped.

He called after Sakura as he ran as fast as he could towards her. The snake was right there, ready to attack either of them. He couldn't bring himself to care, because he would not see it happened again. Not again.

Suddenly, a blur of white and orange came down from higher branches and hit the snake right on the nose. Unsure of what it might be, Sasuke grabbed Sakura and landed as far away as he could managed before he looked back.

It was Naruto.

The snake rebounded quickly. It went right after the blond boy with the speed that he knew Naruto couldn't keep up. Naruto basically rained shuriken on the creature until blood was raining down with them. As soon as the creature fell, a figure rose from its body and there stood the man once again. Sasuke could feel himself trembled. He couldn't stop it this time.

"So, you manage to defeat the giant snake, Naruto-kun," he said.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at him. "So it was you, asshole," Naruto said. Sasuke could hear his anger dripping with each syllables. "Let me get back to you on that."

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._

"Naruto, get out of there!" he shouted. "We can't fight him. Let it go!"

Naruto didn't take his eyes off the enemy as he said, "Do _you_ seriously think he's going to let us go, moron? Did you got so scared your crap went to your brain or something?"

Sasuke's hand went into a fist. Of course, he knew that, but what were the options anyway. "He's another league, idiot. He'll kill us!"

"He'll kill us anyway," Naruto replied. He took an attacking stance as the man chuckled.

"You are correct, Naruto-kun" he said. That disgusting tongue wetted his lips. "You are actually smarter than you look."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, asshole!" Naruto shouted as he charged full force at his enemy. The thunderous cracks and rumbles filled the forest as a massive creature suddenly appeared underneath their enemy, a gargantuan snake with its jaw wide open and fangs dripping of venom. Sasuke almost lost his footing as he pulled Sakura into a cover.

They watched in horror as Naruto desperately fended off the snake, but just a whip of its tail of a tilt of its head sent the boy's small form right into a tree. Sasuke could hear cracking sound coming from where his teammate hit. He wished that it was just the sound of the tree bark breaking, but he knew it was not. Sasuke could almost feel the pain in his own body.

He felt small. He felt hopeless. He felt like it was that night when he ran home only to find a whole district full of corpses. There was nothing he could do then. There was nothing he could do here.

_Please stop this. I beg you. Make this nightmare stop. I can't take it anymore. Stop. Stop. Stop. STOP._

"EAT SHIT!"

With Naruto's scream came a surge of chakra that was enough to snap Sasuke out of his own head. The snake took a hit powerful enough to shut its large mouth with a sick sound of bones hitting bones.

"That's it," muttered Sakura. Her voice was shaking. "That's the chakra."

They watched as Naruto was hit, his body flew towards a tree, only to jump right back into the fight at a speed Sasuke had never seen him achieve before. There wasn't an opening in the warring between Naruto and the snake. It was like a battle between two monsters.

Another side hit from the tail sent Naruto flying before the snake began moving its gargantuan body. It was Sakura who dragged him back before he could register that the snake was coming for them.

Sasuke heard the voice before he actually saw what happened. "Get away from them, you sick jerk!" Naruto shouted as he slammed right into the snake's head, causing it to stop in its track on a tree branch. A moment passed where nobody moved. Sasuke was too shock to even moved his eyes from Naruto's back.

Since when had he been staring at Naruto's back?

Suddenly, Naruto was lifted by the snake's tongue up to the man on top of its head. Naruto was struggling trying to get away, but not before the man performed a seal, zipped open Naruto's jacket, and hit him right in the stomach. Naruto's body went rigid. That was when the man opened his mouth and bite hard between the boy's neck and shoulder.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Naruto's scream cut right through all the fears and nightmares that lurked inside Sasuke like a razor. Suddenly, there was nothing else that mattered, not his fear, not that they were going to die, not his vengeance. It was like on the bridge of Wave Country all over again, except this time Sasuke knew that he was too late, too small, too powerless. But it didn't matter. He charged forward, feeling the chakra welling in his eyes, weapons in his hands, and the fire pumping in his vein like mad. He attacked, causing the man to drop Naruto gracelessly and letting his body slid down to the forest floor. He could hear Sakura confirming that she got him from somewhere below. Sasuke went for the kill.

Another inhuman scream left Naruto's mouth, rattling the entire forest. The bastard just smirked from the top of his snake. Sasuke felt his boiling blood froze to ice.

Sasuke threw his windmill shuriken in response. His enemy dodged effortlessly, but he couldn't dodge the Dragon Fire Sasuke sent his way. He didn't stop there. As if a little fire jutsu would do anything to a man like that. While the man was possibly blinded from the fire, Sasuke lid up the trees in the entire area,before making a retreat.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura called him from the ground beside Naruto wretched form. They picked him up and quickly escaped the area before the fire went out.

/***/

End Chapter 6

**A/N:** I don't usually listen to something this heavy metal but the lyrics '_Anguish took hold on your neck_' is just spot on. I just have to use this song for the title.


	7. Chapter 7: A Loss of Innocence

**A/N:** Thank you for all you supports in the form of reviews, follows, and favs! You guys help keep the creative juice flowing.

** Chubby-King-Chocobo** Thank you. That is so kind of you. I'm glad you think the pacing is good. That was the thing that really worries me about the first five chapters. I'm glad it's not too slow. ** Guest** Thank you, my dear anonymous reviewer! By interesting writing style I hope it's not too weird or something. I love to know what you think about it. ** Kamui5** Now you'll know. Hope you like this chapter too. :) ** ZyiareHellsing** You don't know how glad I am that I've caught you off guard, my friend.

Warning for coarse languages, violent fight scenes (again), and a bit of gore. Enjoy.

**Chapter 7: A Loss of Innocence**

It was close to dawn when they finally stopped, legs shaking and arms trembling. Sasuke felt like he could fall over at any moment. He had exhausted his chakra reserve. His body was also close to its limit. Sakura wasn't that better than him. They found another shelter under a large tree and dragged Naruto limp body inside. The first half an hour they had to carry him was painful. Naruto would scream and vomit and sometimes scratch them. There was no recognition in his eyes, just agony. That was why Sasuke decided to knock him out. The journey afterward was easier but only marginally so.

Being unconscious didn't mean Naruto didn't make noises. He whimpered and moaned from time to time. He also developed a fever high enough for them to be worried. After setting up the traps, Sakura started to strip the blond so she could wipe him down with wet towel and see to his injury. That was when they saw that there wasn't any major ones, not even a bruise in fact, like he hadn't been hit around by a giant snake for a good ten minutes.

"This can't be," she muttered and put the clothes back on the blond. Sasuke just sat there and watched. It explained a lot of things. Whatever was the source of that abnormal chakra, it also healed Naruto's injuries so the blond was in no immediate danger. What they have to worry about was the fever and that seal on Naruto's neck. It was more pressing than ever for them to get to the tower quickly so Naruto could get help.

Sakura's voice called him out from his own head. She wanted to see to his injury, so he let her. He asked after hers but she just shook her head. "I'm fine thanks to you and Naruto," she said with a smile that looked somewhat... sad. "I'll go get some water at the stream we just passed by. I won't be long."

"Be careful," was all he could say. She smiled and disappeared from his line of sight. As soon as he thought she was out of earshot, Sasuke cussed quietly to himself. He was so useless. He couldn't fight off that weird Grass ninja before he got to Naruto. When he finally did, he ended up so exhausted that he could barely stand let alone move. He couldn't take care of Sakura and Naruto like this. He wished he was stronger. How was he going to achieve his goal if he couldn't even save the people around him?

He was so pathetic.

A whimper from Naruto took him out of his own thought. Naruto shook his head slowly from one side to the other and scowled. Sasuke wet the towel with more water and dabbed it on his forehead in hope that the cool water would help. The fever wasn't coming down and it was clear that Naruto was in a lot of pain.

Sasuke remembered a time when he caught a nasty flu as a small child and had to spent days in agony on his bed. His body ached. The world lost its balance, and he could barely breathe. His mother was by his bedside almost all the time. Her elegant fingers combed through his hair as she told him that he would be all right. Sasuke since knew that there was no point for such action aside from the comfort of the touch. The pain wasn't elevated that way no matter what his younger self thought.

Despite that, he ran his fingers through Naruto's hair, muttering nonsense under his breath that his mother used to tell him on occasions like this. He didn't know why he was doing this aside from the fact that it was comforting... for him. It was better than sitting still and feeling helpless, although he knew none of what he was doing actually made any difference.

/***/

When Sakura came back, Sasuke-kun was already asleep propping against one of the roots. His hand was in Naruto's hair like he was about to comb the unruly strands back. She knew he didn't mean to fall asleep like that. Sasuke-kun probably wanted to keep watch even in his exhausted state. In a way, it was better that he passed out so Sakura didn't have to argue with him.

Another part of her was struck with how tender the scene looked. It reminded her somewhat of the time she found Sasuke-kun holding Naruto's hand in the hospital in Wave Country. He denied any feeling towards Naruto and she believed him, but Sakura had always felt that he favored Naruto over her. She couldn't help but think that it was because Naruto was stronger than her and more hardworking than her. She had tried to catch up but couldn't quite get there, not yet anyway.

Looking at them like this, she wondered if Sasuke-kun favoring Naruto really had anything to do with the fact that Naruto was the stronger one.

She took a place close to the entrance, pulled her knees to her chin, and kept watch. Naruto moved from time to time, whimpering and sometimes tossing about. She was glad that Sasuke-kun slept like the dead. He didn't stir once during all those episodes. She tended to Naruto and went back to keeping watch, fending off all wildlife in the vicinity. She didn't trust any of them and there were too many traps around anyway.

By about nine in the morning, she was exhausted. Luckily she was too wired up to really feel it, because it was then that another team decided to show up at their doorstep. Sound ninjas, her tired mind supplied. Adrenaline was pumping into her blood stream as she reached for her kunai.

"You're not very good, are you?" the Hedgehog guy moved closer to her and knelt to the ground. "A booby trap is pointless unless it goes unnoticed, you know?"

"Pathetic, that's what it is," the Chicken-head added from behind, "Let's kill her and kill this Sasuke-guy."

They charged but not before Sakura managed to cut the rope at her side.

The thing about booby traps, Sakura learnt from her discussion with Kakashi-sensei and Inari, was that it could serve a lot of purposes: trapping the enemy, delaying them, or even diverging their attacks.

Her trap went off right above their head and the Sound ninjas had to fall back. The noise also woke Sasuke-kun up, although it was clear that he was still too exhausted to fight yet.

"Sounds. They are coming after you," she told him as she tossed the scroll towards him. "Grab Naruto and get moving."

"Sakura-" Sasuke said, but the sound of another trap went off stopped him.

"I'll hold them back. Please go now. We'll meet at the tower," she told him before moving to the open just in time to see the large log she used for one of the trap being split to pieces right in front of her. The Hedgehog was coming down at her full speed.

Before she could react, there was a whirlwind of green. The Sound ninja were pushed back and before her was Konoha's very own Green Beast who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Lee-san. Why are you here?" she asked in surprise.

His eyes were on the enemies as he said, "I will always appear when you are in trouble. I've told you, haven't I, that I will protect you until I die."

That was... rather touching.

She thanked him and stole a quick glance over her shoulder. Sasuke-kun was still inside their hiding place. She tried to urge him to get moving, but he just looked at her with that stubborn look on his face and his mouth shut tight. His eyes went to Lee, clearly reliving their disastrous match where he was the one beaten up.

Gods, men! This was not the time, seriously!

She turned to face the front. This was not the time for her to get irritated either. She had to be worried about beating the enemies before they got to Sasuke-kun, no matter where he ended up being.

"Oh well, Zaku, you take care of Sasuke-kun. I'll take down this guy," said the Hedgehog as he moved into position. Sakura's eyes went to the two other members of the team then and back to him. She wasn't sure if he was bluffing, but she was confident in Lee's ability. She would keep her eyes on the other two.

Lee was strong, so strong in fact that Sakura thought for a moment that he was going to win. He just had to. But Lee was a taijutsu genius. He was unable to do anything else. The techniques the Sound ninjas used was just not something taijutsu could counter. When the Chicken-head joined in, Sakura knew almost immediately that Lee wasn't going to win. She had to do something and fast.

She decided to attack, charging to the Chicken-head as he was about to give Lee another blow. He reflected her kunai as expected, but she quickly substitute herself with a log and attacked him from above. He reflected again. She used substitution again before landing behind him kicked him hard in the back.

She felt something in her feet snapped with that kick. Her muscles were too tired out to take the force anymore, but she didn't stop. She jumped right at him, pushing him to the ground as she fought literally with her teeth and nails like she had seen Naruto and Sasuke did so many times.

Pain shot from her scalp down to her neck as her hair got pulled back by the long hair kunoichi. Sakura tried to reach back for her hand, but couldn't get to it. She was dragged by the hair off the Chicken-head. "Can't even fight like a ninja. What a disaster," the girl said with a rough tug on Sakura's hair. "What's this? How much treatment did you put into this thing? Trying to be sexy or something? No wonder you're so pathetic as a kunoichi, you female swine!"

That was about as much as Sakura allowed the girl to say. She pulled out a kunai and cut her hair, freeing herself from the grip before twisting back and using the confusion to stab the girl in the leg.

"Keeping hair that long, wagging your tail much, you female canine?" Sakura gloated as she stepped back. It only took a second for the girl to charge at her. They were struggling together on the ground. She swung her arm to the girl's face, trying to knock her off, but was bitten hard enough to draw blood. The momentum was enough to roll them over so that Sakura was on top and pounding the girl's stomach as she kept on biting. She wasn't satisfied yet when a hand grabbed her on the back of her neck, pulled her off, and slammed her to the ground.

"Geez, women and their hair," The Chicken-head said from on top of her. He was basically sitting on her with his full weight, pinning her down. "Now, Uchiha Sasuke, how long are you going to hide behind your little whore?"

As she feared, Sasuke was already standing in the clearing. She could see the strain on his body. He couldn't fight like this, so she did the only thing she could think of. "Run, Sasuke-kun!" she shouted.

He didn't. "You want to fight me, don't you?" he said to the Chicken-head. "Let her go!"

"Well, no," the Chicken head said as he stood up, one foot still pressed on her back as he taunted Sasuke-kun. "Come get your woman yourself, Uchiha."

She heard a 'Tch' and saw him charging in. Sakura closed her eyes and prepared for the worst. What she didn't foresee was the sound of three synchronous hits. The Chicken-head was thrown off her, landing somewhere behind her with a loud thud.

"For the record," came the booming voice of Yamanaka Ino; "This forehead girl is NOT Sasuke-kun's woman!"

/***/

He was alone in the pitch-black darkness. Unlike the closet his second foster family liked to throw him in, this place was damp. His feet were dragging in murky water. It was warm and slightly unpleasant. He heard voices from far away, sometimes a shout. He couldn't quite make out what they say. Some of them sounded like names, like 'Sakura' and 'Sasuke'. He tried to call back but no one replied. No one called for him.

"That's because they have left you behind," came a voice from below. He looked down and there was his reflection, only it didn't look quite like his reflection. The eyes were red instead of blue and the smirk on its face looked unfamiliar. "You're no good to anybody."

He felt his jaw shaking. "Liar. They need me. Sasuke couldn't get a better sparring partner than me. And who's going to take care of Sakura-chan?" he replied with all the gusto he got.

The reflection just smirked. "Not if they are dead," it said.

He looked up from the murky water like it had just hit him. No, they couldn't be dead. Sasuke might be a jerk, but he wouldn't let Sakura get hurt. And he was good. He-

He turned around and there right behind him, leaking out the dark water at his feet, was the almost unrecognizable body of Umino Iruka.

/***/

The surge of chakra stopped everybody's movement. It stopped the battle between the Sound ninja and team Asuma right on its track. Sasuke's heart dropped to his stomach as he felt the sense of imminent doom. It didn't feel like the last time, wasn't the same chakra. This one felt...dirty, like something rotten and contaminated.

He turned, as all of them turned, to the source of the chakra. There in front of the entrance stood Naruto. Half his body was littered with hideous black marks. It went down his left arm and up to one side of his face. His eyes were red instead of blue and stared at them like he could see right through them.

Then he turned to Sakura, observing her from where he stood before turning back to them. "Which one of you hurt Sakura-chan?" he growled. They couldn't reply. It seemed like none of them knew how to move.

Then suddenly Naruto disappeared. An instant later he was in front of the Sound nin girl. His face just a few inches from hers. "You smell like her blood," he told her quietly before grabbing the back of her head and slamming her face first into a tree. Sasuke heard Ino gasped loudly behind him. "That'll teach you not to bite on something you shouldn't, bitch."

Zaku went at him right after that, his sound jutsu in full blast. Sasuke and the rest had to get away before they got their eardrums burst. He looked for Sakura and saw Lee holding her like a bride. Her eyes fixed on Naruto, wide and terrified.

He turned back to observe the fight but the air blast stirred up a lot of leaves and dirt from the ground that he couldn't see clearly. That Zaku-guy went overbroad with his technique and he completely lost track of Naruto.

"Above you!" came a shout from Dosu. Zaku aimed and blasted more air only for Naruto to disappear into a cloud of smoke before he hit him.

"What the-" was the only thing Zaku could say before Dosu flew into him. He fell under the weight of his teammate. He quickly pushed Dosu off but didn't get a chance to get up when Naruto swooped in and slammed one of Zaku's arm to the ground with his foot. Sasuke could hear a loud crack of bone breaking under the force, followed by a scream.

"Please stop," Dosu said. His attitude suddenly changed from cocky to complaint almost immediately. "We know now that you are strong. We admit defeat this time."

That attitude seemed to piss Naruto off. He let go of Zaku and grabbed Dosu by the neck instead. "So you're the type to target the weak, huh?" he said.

"No, our target was Sasuke-kun. We didn't intend to attack the girl."

"Like I'd believe you, moron!" Naruto yelled as he threw Dosu to the ground. His feet pinned the guy by the chest. "I was going to let you off easy because you don't smell of her. How about I break a couple of ribs to give you a lesson?" Sasuke could hear something cracking under the pressure. That was when he broke away from the group, ran straight to Naruto, and grabbed him by the arm.

"Naruto, stop it!" he hissed. "They admit defeat and you beat two of them already. Let them go."

Naruto turned to him and hissed back, "Cracked ribs is a mild lesson for bullies like these guys."

Bullies. That was why he was suddenly so pissed off. "Naruto, you've done enough. Anymore than this you'll give Sakura nightmares."

That was when Naruto's eyes snapped to Sakura as if her position had been in his peripheral vision all along. Sasuke's eyes followed him. She stood by Lee. Her face was as white as a sheet like she was about to faint. She was shocked by what she saw, by what Naruto was capable of. He knew that Naruto could tell, too.

The marks began to retreat and Naruto's eyes slowly turned blue again, but there wasn't liveliness there. Naruto looked defeated. "Just go," Naruto told the Sound ninjas. His voice sounded tired. "And don't let me see your faces again."

Dosu nodded. He quickly got up and, before moving to getting his teammates, put down his scroll. "You defeat us fair and square, so here is the prize according to the rule," he said.

Naruto just huffed and said, "Like I need anything from the likes of you." He didn't spare them another glance as he walked towards Sakura. Everybody's eyes were on him like they were trying to dissect him. Naruto didn't seem to care. He stopped two meters away from where Sakura stood and asked, "Are you all right, Sakura-chan? Are you badly hurt?"

She looked frightened, but she collected herself and smiled. "I got a sprained ankle and some bruises but nothing too serious. It'll be gone in a couple of days."

"Ah, I see," Naruto replied with a small smile on his face. "That's good then. I, ah, I guess Lee-san can help you for a bit, right?"

Lee was surprised by this, but he nodded firmly. Naruto nodded back. "I need to go wash up a bit. I'll be back soon. Don't worry about me, okay?"

Sakura looked like she was about to say something when Naruto took off. He met nobody's eyes as he crossed the clearing and into the woods. Sasuke turned to Sakura and said, "I'll follow him," before going after the blond boy.

Naruto seemed to have great speed when he decided to run away, it took Sasuke a good fifteen minutes to find him in the thickets. He dropped down behind the tree trunk and was about to confront Naruto when the sound of muffled sobs stopped him. He could hear the hiccups, the short intakes of breath, and the sound like sobs half swallowed into the throat coming from where Naruto hid.

Sasuke had never heard Naruto cry. He never thought he would. When he did, he couldn't move. He was torn between going to the blond boy to console him, knowing he would be intruding on a very private and vulnerable moment, and simply giving him some space. He knew Naruto wouldn't appreciate the former, Sasuke being his rival and all, but Sasuke couldn't turn back and walk away. His legs suddenly felt weak as the adrenalin that kept him going seeped away. He sat down behind the tree trunk, resting his back against it as he listened to sobs turning into crying and into wailing. Naruto sounded like a child so broken, so helpless, and so, so deep in despair.

Sasuke closed his eyes and let his own tears fall.

/***/

End of Chapter 7

**A/N:** I normally don't want to tell you guys the exact song I choose for the title so you can just leave it as it is or go find the song you think is the one. In this case, though, the song is so obscure it doesn't even have an audio online. So here is the lyrics to _A Loss of Innocence_ by Slow Coming Day:

'In the blink of an eye, I watch as my soul dies.  
>In only a moment, my heart is shattered to nothing.<br>I have lost everything I am and ever will be forever.  
>Guilt and anguish consume me.<br>I could never make this feeling leave.  
>Tears now my only words.<br>As silence fills the room.  
>I have lost everything I am and ever will be forever.<br>I have lost everything.'


	8. Chapter 8: Kiss With a Fist

**A/N:** Since the last two chapters were pretty heavy and this is Christmas, here is some down time for the boys. ** Jean Sumar** Thank you. I hope I can conjure more feels from you in the future. Gotta love the feels. XD

**Chapter 8: Kiss With a Fist**

The Chuunin Exam seemed to have taken a break, and it became a camping trip just like the one Sakura's mother didn't let her go when she was younger. Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru hang around after the rest left. They were given the scroll from the Sound team since they were fighting as well. Given the state of her ankle, Sakura was pretty much stuck with Ino while Chouji and Shikamaru went fishing at the stream.

She hadn't hang out with Ino like this for a long time. It felt like a lifetime ago that they decided to grow their hair and became rivals for Sasuke-kun's affection. Ino had been pretty hostile towards her when she learnt that Sakura and Sasuke-kun were on the same team. Well, Sakura might have bragged about it, too. Given their hostility, she was surprised at how their dynamic just got back to where it was years earlier, or how easy she could still read her friend.

Like then, Sakura could tell simply by just looking at her that she was planning something. "Whatever you're thinking, don't do it, Ino-pig," she said as she observed a rather sinister smile on her friend's face. "Sasuke-kun is tired already."

"Oh, Sakura. Like I would do anything against his wish. I was only thinking of a good night kiss, that's all," Ino replied and giggled. Previously, Sakura would have screamed at her friend saying that Sasuke was hers so Ino could back off, but right then she just sighed. The lack of heated response seemed to alarm Ino. "What happened?" she asked. "Did Sasuke-kun do something?"

Sakura didn't know what to say. It was not that she had given up on Sasuke entirely. After months of being his teammate, she had a distinct impression that Sasuke would never look at her the way she wanted. "I'm just thinking that I should give this Sasuke-kun-thing a break. I've been obsessed with him for way too long, I think. Right now I... Well, knowing him as I do sort of changes things."

"Wait, what, what, what!? Hold on. Are you saying Sasuke-kun has some disturbing, deep, dark secret quirk that put you off?" Ino asked. Sakura pouted. "Oh, c'mon, Sakura! Give your girlfriend all the juicy bits already."

"Well," Sakura started, "I'm not entirely sure if Sasuke-kun is into this kind of thing."

Ino paused, then shrieked, "What!? He's gay?"

"No! Shut up, Ino! He just never look at any girl or guy at all! Like they don't register with him!" Well, maybe except one, and Sasuke-kun denied everything so Sakura was going to accept that answer for the time being.

"Maybe he's just a late bloomer," Ino said. She nodded to herself like she was convinced her answer was correct.

"Yeah, maybe," Sakura said and sighed again. "It's not like I don't like him anymore, you know. I'm just...well, there are moments where I wasn't even sure whom I was looking at."

Ino gave her a thoughtful look. "You mean, he's not like whom you imagined?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sakura replied. "He can be so mean and so annoying sometimes. He doesn't listen to anybody and basically think we're worthless. Then there were moments when he was actually very thoughtful and kinda sweet." She shrugged. "He's more complicated than I thought, I guess."

Ino whistled. "Yeah, I can sort of see that. Back in the Academy, he was this aloof and cool guy who didn't talk to or befriend anybody. And look at him now, running off after Naruto like that. I wouldn't have thought that kind of thing could happen."

That made Sakura's heart sank a little. "Yeah," she said, pulling her knees to her chin.

Ino looked at her with concern. "What is it?" she asked.

"Ah, nothing. I'm just worried about Naruto," she replied.

Ino raised an eyebrow. "So... close proximity makes the heart grow fonder?" she teased.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's 'absence makes the heart grow fonder', Ino-pig. Quote it right," she said; "And he's my teammate, too. He's already better than me when we started this. And now he's leaving me in the dust." She huffed in frustration. If only she was stronger, she could have protected them, and maybe Naruto wouldn't have to push himself so hard and become so... scary.

"I've to admit, though, that I didn't think he could... fight like that," said Ino hesitantly. "I know this is Chuunin Exam and it's supposed to be a fight to the death and all that crap, but-"

"-Naruto wasn't going to kill them," Sakura said firmly.

Ino looked at her and shook her head. "I know that, stupid. Or that girl would have been dead already, not just in need of facial reconstruction," Ino replied. She shuddered a little bit. "And what's with that black, creepy marks and that chakra anyway. Since when did he know how to do something like that."

"That wasn't him," said Sakura. That much she was certain.

Ino looked at her, puzzled. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Sakura ended up telling Ino everything about the fight with the creepy Grass ninja and of Naruto's strange chakra that he seemed to be able to tab in from time to time. Something seemed to click in Ino's head.

"You know," her friend started slowly. "You know my family runs a flower shop, right?" Sakura nodded. "See. When I was very young, I 'helped out' in the shop and there was one time when this lady came in to buy flowers for her family's grave. She chatted to my mom not knowing I was around there behind the counter and mentioned not letting 'the fox boy' come close to me at school. I didn't know what she was talking about, so I didn't care. The fox boy part stuck, though, because I couldn't figure out whom in our class she referred."

Sakura caught on immediately. "You think it's Naruto?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know, Sakura. The whisker marks made him looked vaguely like one, but, like, who knows really. It could have been someone else."

Sakura could feel gears turning in her head. "Do you remember that time when Naruto got bullied on the playground by that group of boys?"

Ino huffed and said, "Oh my god, that's so vague. Like how many times had Naru-" She paused. "Oh my god, I didn't realize."

Sakura didn't either. She had always thought Naruto was loud and annoying, but sifting back through her memory gave her a completely different perspective. "There was one time that a gang of boys beat him up with sticks. One of them shouted, 'Kill the fox'. A teacher dragged them off the playground right away. They never broke up a fight like that. That was probably the only time it happened."

"Yeah," Ino replied softly. Her eyes suddenly snapped to Sakura's. "This might sound crazy, but I'm just going to put it out there, okay?"

"What is it?" Sakura asked, too impatient to hold back already.

"Well," Ino began. She seemed unsure about what she was going to say next. "What if Naruto is the Kyuubi vessel?"

/***/

When the boys came back from the stream. They were greeted by the sight of the two girls rolling on the forest floor, laughing their asses off.

"Oh, this is troublesome," muttered Shikamaru. Naruto was right behind him and therefore took him another two steps to actually see what was going on. And even then he was simply too confused to say anything.

"Oi, Naruto!" Ino called out and waved at him, still wheezing through her nose. "Glad you're back."

Naruto just looked at her. He got a feeling something was up.

"Please don't tell me you eat some kind of mushroom around here," Shikamaru said as he handed their pack of grilled fish to Naruto for safe keeping and walked over to his teammate. And by safe keeping he meant from Chouji who had had his share on the shore of the stream where they grilled the fish and was still looking for more. Naruto hugged the pack tightly.

"I swear to gods, Ino had the most ridiculous punch-line ever," Sakura-chan said as she sat up. Her eyes were still filled with mirth as they set on Naruto. Despite her shorter hair and sprained ankle, Sakura was still in high spirit. Naruto was relieved.

"We've been waiting for you guys for so long," Ino complained. "Where's our food?"

Naruto gladly ran over to the girls and handed out the fish. He made sure Sakura-chan got the big one he caught. He joined in later in the catch when he caught sight of Chouij and Shikamaru by the stream. Sasuke joined them just moments later and caught even a bigger one than Naruto's. Lucky for Naruto, Chouji laid claim to it before any of them could.

"That one is for you, Sakura-chan," He said as he put the fish on the leaf-plate they made. "I caught this myself!" he added with his usual big grin.

Sakura-chan smiled in return before she feigned a scoff. "Are you sure it's edible?" she said.

"Ah, c'mon, Sakura-chan. Have a little faith in me, wouldn't ya?" he said. The smile still on his face.

To his surprise, she nodded and started to eat the fish. The thing wasn't seasoned at all, but they were too tired and hungry that any food tasted like it was gods-sent. Satisfied that she was eating. He got up and sat down on the ground further away to devour his share of the meal. Sasuke sat between Sakura and him while Shikamaru sat by Ino. Chouji wasn't allowed any more fish and had to keep watch from a branch above them.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Shikamaru asked with his mouth half-full, which made him look kind of disgusting.

"I think we should move after this," said Sasuke; "Both our teams have the scrolls, we might as well just go straight for the tower."

"Wait," Naruto interjected, "what about Sakura-chan's ankle? Why don't we stay here for a day or something?"

"No, the fire we set beside the stream would have attracted other teams already. We should get our hides out of here," said Shikamaru.

"But if we run into enemies, we're done for if we are too tired to fight," Naruto countered.

Shikamaru gave this a thought and nodded. "True," he said, "We should rest then, but it can't be here. We have to move further before finding shelter."

"I can travel," Sakura said. Her fish was nothing but bones now. "The sprain isn't bad, but I'm still going to slow you guys down, so we should get moving soon to cover the distance."

"But Sakura-chan-"

She cut him short with a shake of her head. "The sooner we get to the tower, the better. We should do this before the six of us run out of gas."

Naruto looked at her and nodded. With that decided, there wasn't anything he could say to persuade them otherwise. They finished up their meals and prepared for the long walk. It was then that Sasuke came over and spoke to him. "Why don't you go and help Sakura?" he said.

Naruto just looked at him.

"She would only injure herself if she push too hard. You can be her crutch for the time being, right?" Sasuke said.

Naruto didn't know where that came from. He just didn't like it. "Well, why don't you do it? She'll be thrilled," Naruto replied. The thought of him touching Sakura, of even being close to her, made his stomach churned.

"I have to stand guard," said Sasuke in that all-important tone of his.

"Pfft, oh please, Almighty Uchiha, save us all," Naruto scoffed. "You're about ready to drop dead. Don't act like you're invincible, Sasuke. You go with her. I'll be the guard," he said then walked off. He didn't want to argue about this with Sasuke. It wasn't that he didn't want to help Sakura. Naruto would do anything for her, but the question was should he. Did he even have the right to?

"Hey, you ready?" Shikamaru asked. He looked as bored as ever, like nothing he had seen before really affected him. While everybody thought Shikamaru was lazy because he couldn't give a damn, Naruto liked Shikamaru because of that.

"Yeah, let's go," he said. They took off shortly after.

/***/

The trek through the forest was a long tiring one. They started out carrying Sakura to get a head start. Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Chouji all took turn. Ino was at the front checking their trail for traps, animals, and enemies. They managed to get a view of the tower before night fall.

After that was where things was going to get really tricky, so they decided to rest there for the night. Ino and Chouji scouted the area for potential enemies and traps as Shikamaru let Sakura down in front of a big shrub they decided to use for hiding.

"All clear," Naruto poked his head out of bush with a wide smile. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Did this guy ever run out of energy?

"Quiet, Naruto," Sakura chided him in a sharp whisper, " but thanks."

Naruto still had the smile on his face when he crawled out and pulled back a branch. Sakura took the cue and crawled in. Shikamaru followed soon after, then Naruto turned to Sasuke expectantly.

Sasuke just said, "I'll wait for the scout."

"I can do that, Bastard. Now don't act tough. Get in," Naruto countered.

Sasuke sighed and sat down next to Naruto as the blond gave him stinky eyes.

"You don't trust me at all, do you?" he said as he released the branch. "What a great team-player."

Sasuke did not dignify that comment with a response. He asked, "How's the seal?"

Naruto's hand automatically shot up to his neck close to where the mark was. "Is it... is it showing?" he asked quietly. His voice had a slight tremor that Sasuke barely registered.

"No," Sasuke replied, "But you were touching your neck a lot. And you hissed a few times while doing it. I thought I should ask."

"It's nothing," Naruto said. His hand didn't leave his shoulder, though. "It just itches sometimes."

Sasuke doubted that was all there was, but he knew Naruto wasn't going to admit that the seal was acting up. "Let me have a look," he said as his hand grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and pulled so Naruto was facing him. He pulled down the zipper in front of Naruto's jacket and pulled the fabric back so he could have a better look at the seal.

The seal looked dormant. It didn't change the shape from the first time he saw it. He ran his fingers over the inked skin slowly but couldn't feel anything underneath or on it. A seal from pure chakra. Sasuke had never heard of anything like it before.

With his hand on Naruto's shoulder, he could feel the muscle shook slightly under his fingers. He made a quick once over and could see how tired Naruto was. It was hard to tell without basically being in Naruto's personal space, because Naruto seemed to have endless energy when he moved around. And Naruto moved around a lot.

Naruto gave him a weird look, so Sasuke quickly diverted his attention, "You said it itches?"

Naruto swallowed and said, "Yeah."

Sasuke pulled his hands back and reached for his pouch. He did not have anything that could really help, but he thought something cool might do. He pulled out a small towel, drenched it with water, and dabbed it on the seal. "This should help a little," he muttered.

"It's not too bad," Naruto said, but Sasuke ignored him and continued on his work. "Stop already, Sasuke," Naruto protested, but his voice was too tired to have any conviction, so Sasuke lingered. It was Naruto who pulled away when they heard a cough.

"We're back," said Chouji. "Want an update?"

Sasuke nodded. He was a little startled that he didn't notice the chubby boy approaching at all. To his surprise, Ino, instead of coming after him like she usually did, went straight for the opening in the bush. "I'll update the people inside," she said hastily before disappearing into the shrub, leaving the confused boys behind.

"What's with her?" Naruto turned to Chouji and asked. Chouji just shrugged before he sat down and told them about the lay out of the place around them. Basically, they were surrounded by traps. It seemed that many teams choose to get the scroll close to the tower, knowing they have better chance at getting the scroll they needed. From here on would probably be all out war. Sasuke didn't like the sound of it.

He tried to come up with a way to get out of this place faster, but couldn't really think of anything but the use of stealth. A group of six would be a bit large for that, but if they could coordinate their movements, they might be able to slip passed those traps quite all right. He needed to talk to Shikamaru about this. "I'll take the first watch with Shikamaru if he's okay with that. The rest of you should eat and rest."

It was hard to tell what Chouji felt. He looked at Sasuke and nodded gravely before going inside the shrub. Naruto, however, remained.

"Oi, Dead-last, when I said the rest that includes you, too," Sasuke said, but Naruto wasn't moving.

"So? Who died and made you the leader anyway?" Naruto replied. "I'm the Almighty Uchiha. I don't need to rest. I can take care of everybody. All hail me!" Sasuke was sure he purposefully drawled just to be extra annoying.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Your taunts are getting old, Uzumaki," he said, too tired to be riled up by Naruto's childishness

"Yeah? Your attitude is getting old too, Sasuke," Naruto replied. He moved to a crouch, clearly trying to intimidate Sasuke who was sitting. "You like to act like you're better than everybody, like the earthly things like sleep and food and tiredness are so beneath you. Bad news, you fool nobody, bastard."

Sasuke could feel a start of a headache. "Now listen here, Dope," he said, pressing forward into Naruto's personal space. "I AM better than the lot of you. But no, I'm not above sleeping or eating or getting tired, but I can manage it better. I'm an Uchiha, Naruto. I don't think you know what that means."

Naruto looked about ready to shout a comeback, when he suddenly tipped forward by an unseen force. Sasuke's reaction time was off because of the day's journey, so he didn't managed to catch Naruto before their faces mashed, their noses collided, and their mouths basically locked to one another.

Also because of delay in reaction time, it took a good three seconds for both him and Naruto to pull back and tried to spit out the after taste.

When Sasuke looked up again, he saw Nara Shikamaru looking rather amused. "Did I come at a bad time?" he asked. Sasuke had the urge to strangle him.

"What did you do that for?" Naruto turned to Shikamaru, still rubbing his mouth.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "How would I know you'd be crouching close to the entrance way? Next time move back a bit unless you were planning on kissing him all along."

Sasuke had never thought Naruto's face could turn that red. Then again, Naruto was rarely embarrassed. Sasuke just didn't know what face to make. "Go inside already," he told Naruto who grudgingly zipped up his jacket and disappeared into the bush. It was too awkward for Naruto to stay behind after that anyway.

Shikamaru, thankfully, did not make any comment about the scene he accidentally caused. He motioned them to a branch above the shrub where they could talk and watch the surrounding from a higher point. "Chouji said you want to talk to me," he stated in his usual bored tone as he settled in a position facing opposite of Sasuke. Sasuke nodded.

He told Shikamaru about what he thought was their best way of moving forward. Shikamaru listened quietly before adding his two-cent to the pile. They were going to move in pairs. First pair is the scouts which Sasuke volunteered. His Sharingan could see some chakra infused traps and genjutsu traps so it would be easier for them to trudge through. Shikamaru would came with him so he could lay out the track for the second team: Sakura and Ino. The last team would be behind to cover their tracks and checked if there was anyone behind them. That would be Naruto and Chouji.

"Man, Ino and Naruto are going to complain about us not asking for their input. It's going to be so much trouble getting those two on board," Shikamaru complained. Sasuke couldn't agree more.

"I'll convince Ino. You'll convince Naruto," Sasuke said. He hoped that her way-too-obvious infatuation with him would come in handy.

"Sure," Shikamaru replied. There was a moment of silence as they watched the last light of the sun going out. "So, Ino told me something interesting."

Sasuke had a distinct feeling he wouldn't like where this was going.

"She said you and Naruto might be a couple."

Oh, gods. Not again.

"She said she saw you two eye-fucking while cuddling with your hand inside Naruto's jacket."

"Exaggeration," Sasuke countered.

Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow. "So you're not denying that you and Naruto-"

"No. I mean, yes, I deny having anything to do with that idiot," Sasuke replied. He willed the blood down from his face. "I was just checking his injury."

Shikamaru's eyebrow went a little higher, if that was even possible. "Okay, sure," he said. His tone was layered with much skepticism. Sasuke was going to deny it some more when Shikamaru suddenly looked serious. "I was planning on giving you the 'hurt-him-and-you-die' speech, you know. I guess I don't have to do that then."

Sasuke was puzzled.

Shikamaru scratched his stomach and said, "Look, I know for a fact that Naruto doesn't have a lot of friends. Me and Chouji are probably the only two people who've seen the inside of his room. I was a little worried when I knew he was going to be in the same team as you, because I knew he hated your gut. He has a hand-drawn 'Beat Sasuke' poster in his bedroom. You look pretty hideous on it."

"You talk a lot," Sasuke replied. This was really getting awkward. He didn't think he was supposed to know this.

"But what I was afraid of the most was that he was going to be left behind," Shikamaru added like he didn't hear Sasuke at all. "You're not good for him. You're an arrogant bastard who couldn't give a damn about what other people feel. I was sure you were going to treat him like shit. I was looking forward to seeing him knocking you over."

Sasuke had to admit that he was surprised by that sentiment. Shikamaru might not act like he cared much about the world, but he clearly cared about Naruto in his own quiet and aloof way.

"I guess I just want to say thanks for trying to care for him," Shikamaru said and sighed. "I know he's unbearable. He's just trying to live the best he knows how. I can't always be there to remind him that he's not alone. I'm glad that at least you can do that when I can't."

He just stared at Shikamaru, not knowing how to respond to that. His family and teachers had thanked him for helping out before, but this was the first time he was thanked for something he decided to do largely by himself. It felt...weird, like his chest was suddenly infused with warmth and expanding beyond its usual capability. He quickly remembered that he needed to respond and said, "You're welcome," before going back to watching the darkened forest. Not at any point did he admit to himself that being thanked felt... nice.

/***/

End of Chapter 8

**A/N:** The legendary accidental kiss has made the appearance. :P


	9. Chapter 9: Fallin'

**A/N: **This is a short but hopefully intense chapter. Thank you so much for following this story. Enjoy!

Since there are long replies to reviews left since last chapter, I'm going to put them at the end of this chapter instead. :)

**Chapter 9: Fallin'**

The trek to the tower was less eventful than the first two days of their test. They had a run-in with a team of Rain ninja and another brush with a trap that they managed to escape before any serious encounter happened. The plan of trying to avoid other teams meant they spent over a day and a half to get to the tower instead of what could easily be a day trek. Naruto thanked his luck for being teamed with Chouji and for Sakura being injured enough that they were not going full speed. He doubted he could keep up.

When he told Sasuke that the seal itched, he didn't lie. It did itch, but it also caused spasm down his arm and back and considerable level of pain. It didn't happen often, but each time it did, the pain was enough that Naruto wasn't able to hide it completely. It acted up three times on their way to the tower. He was lucky that Chouji noticed only once and he was able to brush it off. Once they got inside, though, he doubted that he could keep it from his teammates for much longer.

And it was just his luck that he had to room with Sasuke.

This didn't sound like much of a change, but in the forest the attention was directed outward because there was danger lurking just out of sight. Once they were safe, the attention was going to turn inward. Naruto felt the sense of doom as they were shown to their room. He almost thought of using sexy no jutsu and go room with Sakura who was just down the hall. The moment they were alone, Naruto was sure the bastard was going to start asking questions, like he did on and off for weeks about various things already. Naruto had to be careful if he was going to keep his condition on the low-key.

As soon as the door was shut behind them, Sasuke turned to him. Naruto knew this was it. He was going to-

Before he could even freak out properly, Naruto blurted out, "Let's go take a bath."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He blinked in confusion.

Naruto realized what he just said and realized the utter genius of it. This place had public bath. Sasuke wouldn't ask him anything strange in a place like that.

"C'mon, Sasuke. Let's go," he said, basically bouncing off the walls as he went for the closet and grabbed a yukata. They'd bath, and Naruto would snooze as soon as they got back. No time for Sasuke to say anything. Good plan.

"Tch, do you ever get tired, Dead-last?" said Sasuke had the grabbed another yukata and a towel before following Naruto out of the room. They met Sakura-chan and Ino on the way also heading to the bath. He learned from them that there were hot tubs.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Naruto shouted, shooting his hands in the air. "HOT TUBS!"

"Oh, geez," Sakura said, "where do you get your energy from?"

Naruto just smiled and went ahead into the changing room with a wave. He didn't want to snub Sakura that way, but he needed to get away from Sasuke. He quickly took off his clothes and went for the bathing area with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. He found Shikamaru and Chouji scrubbing up and Naruto joined them immediately, hoping their presence would deter Sasuke. He was glad that Sasuke didn't join in. He just watched from afar as he cleaned himself from another side of the room.

Unfortunately, Shikamaru, that lazy bastard, saw right through him. "Having a row with the boyfriend?" he said offhandedly.

Naruto nearly dropped a small plastic tub containing considerable amount of water on his own head. "THE HELL!" he yelled.

Shikamaru gave him a look. "Honestly, if you don't want us to tease you, don't react so much," he said before dousing himself in water. "He could at least stop glaring at us, though. Ino has enough ideas about you two already."

"He's just weird, man. You know that," Naruto said, trying to shrug it off.

"Oh? How so?"

Naruto contemplated just brushing it off, but he didn't have a chance to talk to Shikamaru in a while. During their trip here, Shikamaru mostly stuck with Sasuke. Or rather, Sasuke dragged him along everywhere and only talked shops with him. They were acting like the leaders of the group, making decisions and plans between the two of them. Naruto could understand why. Sasuke was smart, hands down. Shikamaru, despite his just above average track record, was actually a really smart guy, too. Naruto knew this firsthand. It just pissed Naruto off that Sasuke didn't consider his opinion worthy even though they were teammates.

Thinking about it made him want to punch the Bastard. He decided that all he needed was ranting about him to Shikamaru. "Well," Naruto started, "he made really weird small talks, asking really personal things that it was positively creepy."

Shikamaru just looked thoughtfully at him and asked, "Are you sure he wasn't coming on to you or something?"

"Ugh, don't say that!" And he thought hanging out with Shikamaru was a good idea. Honestly, every suggestion from Shikamaru was just giving him gooseflesh. "Anyway, I was saying that Sasuke was just not normal. I don't get what his brooding is all about and he does it all the time. How can anybody be that broody and survive for longer than a year? I tell you, man, it's draining the energy out of the team."

"Maybe you should ask him about that," Shikamaru suggested.

"Why should I?" said Naruto. "I don't want him to go emo all over me."

Shikamaru gave him a look. "And here you are ranting to me like I can do anything," he said.

"Well, at least you listen to me. He never listens to me, or Sakura-chan actually. He's all high and mighty and self-important that his team doesn't matter. My opinion is not important enough that he'd give a damn."

Shikamaru was quiet for a moment before he said, "Well, I can see your point there."

"Right!?" Naruto replied excitedly. Finally, Shikamaru was in agreement with him. "Teaming with him is so frustrating, not to mention he's usually just down right rude, you know. Let me tell ya-"

Before Naruto could carry on with his rant, he felt a firm gripped on his shoulder. He stood up and spun around and there was Sasuke with the darkest expression he'd ever seen. The Uchiha didn't say anything, he just grabbed Naruto by the back of his neck and dragged him out to the changing area so fast Naruto thought the floor just moved under his feet.

There Sasuke threw him against the wall. "Seems like you have a lot you wanna tell me," he said. His voice was tight with anger.

Naruto smirked. "Finally come down from your throne, Uchiha?" he taunted. He widened his stance automatically like every time they got into a fight.

"Didn't I tell you it was getting old? Why don't you say what you want to say to my face, coward?" Sasuke snarled.

"Like it would ever find your ear holes, bastard," Naruto snarled back.

Sasuke made a threatening step closer. "Try me, Idiot," he said.

"Yeah?" Naruto chuckled and said, "You want me to tell you how much of a jerk you are? Because I tell you every goddamn single day and you could never comprehend what I say."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Is this about Sakura-"

"Oh, now you're deflecting."

"Uzumaki, cut the crap."

"This is NOT about Sakura, asshole. It's about YOU. You and your higher-than-thou attitude. What do you think I am? Your minion? What about Sakura? One of your groupies? By the way, if that is what you think, I am so going to knock all your teeth out of your mouth and I wouldn't even care if your fan-girl army is going to stone me to death afterward."

"Naruto," Sasuke growled, "Stop hiding behind Sakura! Keep her out of this and tell me what's _your_ problem."

"You, bastard. You are the epitome of my problem. You think you know better. You think you are better. No, wait. Let me quote you: I am better than the lot of you. Want me to do an impersonation, too? I can do that."

"Naruto, you're trying my patience."

"See!?" Naruto pointed at his face; "That right there is my problem. You think you are so great you couldn't careless what the rest of us think. You can't even just listen to me."

"That's because you're a moron!" Sasuke shouted loud enough that Naruto took an involuntary step backward.

But his hand were balled in a fist. "That's it!" Naruto shouted. He had said enough.

He threw a punch into Sasuke's face. The Uchiha blocked him and gave him a mean left hook that Naruto barely dodged. He stumbled backward a bit from the force and was greeted with an insufferable smirk on Sasuke's face. "Can't even throw a punch, Dead-last."

Naruto lunged forward, but his feet faltered as the pain shot down his body. Every muscle seemed to contract violently and uncontrollably. He felt a surge of chakra so powerful it burned him inside out only to ebb away and left him cold and trembling. He couldn't breathe, could barely registered that he was face first on the floor with blood dripping down his nose.

Then suddenly he felt his stomach twisted, like somebody had reached in with hot burning hands and torn his inside apart. He tried to grab hold onto something, anything, as his sanity seemed to slip and his entire body cramped up. Was he about to die? He smelt blood, his own blood. He could see his fingers digging into the wooden floor, tearing it until his own hand was torn. He couldn't feel it. All he felt was the burn coming in and out his body unlike any other pain he had every experience.

He was rolled onto on his back as he began to see dark spots in his vision and the sound started to fade into high-pitch ringing. The world was beginning to fade and he was grateful for it. He didn't know if he could take it any longer.

And just as he thought it was going to end, it started all over again.

/***/

When Kakashi arrived, the room was already full of people. There was two medical-nin examining an unconscious Naruto on the bed. Two ANBU guarded the door and the window. Kakashi knew there were more of them outside the window, down the hall, and in the adjacent rooms. In the room was also Sasuke being treated by a medic for the cuts on his back.

Sasuke looked up at him and Kakashi was struck by how worn out he looked. He looked rattled which was more than Kakashi had ever seen him.

"We were fighting," Sasuke told him quietly when he stopped in front of the boy. He didn't even ask for report yet. "Then he was on the floor writhing and screaming. Those ugly marks were all over him. I don't know what happened."

Kakashi patted the boy gently on the head. Sasuke might hate this, but there wasn't a lot of space on Sasuke shoulders and upper arms that wasn't bruised or cut already. He didn't want to aggravate those injuries.

One of the medic by Naruto's bed motioned him over. He looked concerned enough that Kakashi was starting to worry. When he got there, he saw it.

And now he thought he had to be worried about Sasuke. After all, that was whom the intel told him was Orochimaru's intended target. It seemed that the cryptic 'someone interesting' he divulged to Anko in their brief encounter was instead Naruto. Everything had just gotten more complicated.

"It is dormant now," said the medic. "It seems to react to the child's emotional state and pull out a lot of chakra."

With anyone else, Kakashi didn't need to be worried about this, but Naruto didn't have ordinary chakra reserves. "His chakra pathways?"

"Intact," the medic said. "But he can't risk using too much chakra right now or he might burn them. He'll need time to recover for a week at least, not to mention getting the cursed seal blocked off."

That Kakashi could do. He didn't know, though, if now was the right time to put a seal on top of a seal, not to mention the complication with _that_ seal. "We'll have to take him off Chuunin Exam, then."

"You can't do that!" came the protest from across the room, not that it was far off. And Sasuke had good hearing too.

Kakashi sighed. "This is a medical order, Sasuke," he said. "It's not up for contest."

"But he has already come this far, Kakashi! You know Naruto would want to see this through. You can't just-"

Before Sasuke could finish the sentence, Kakashi was in front of him. The sound of his fist slamming into the wall next to the boy shut Sasuke up instantly. "I know what Naruto would have wanted. And like yours, his wants or opinions do not factor in here. Stop acting like a spoiled brat and leave the decision to people who know what they are doing," Kakashi said. He didn't raise his voice, but the look on Sasuke's face was enough to tell that he got the message. Satisfied that Sasuke was going to be silence, he turned to the ANBU nearby. "Please inform the Hokage of Naruto's condition and have an escort team assembled. We move him as soon as the path is cleared."

Sasuke's head perked up again, but he knew better than to protest this time. Kakashi was glad he didn't. Now really was not the time. He made his way to the door when Sasuke snarled, "I'll demand an explanation after this."

"Sure," Kakashi replied and left.

/***/

Sakura found Sasuke-kun the next day in the little cafeteria they have in the tower. He looked so distraught and angry that everyone just gave him a wide breadth. Even Ino decided to stay close to her teammates instead of pestering Sasuke-kun for attention. Sakura, however, did not have same the luxury.

"Hi, Sasuke-kun," she said as she sat down opposite of him. "Where's Naruto?"

The dark aura around him seemed to grow even darker. "I don't know," he said.

Sakura smiled tentatively. "Did you two fight again?" she asked offhandedly. After all, they fought all the time.

This time Sasuke-kun flinched like she had hit him. Sakura blinked in surprise.

"What happened?" she asked. Surely it couldn't be anything that they couldn't resolve before the third round in the afternoon.

The look in Sasuke's eyes was something she had never seen before. He looked... guilty... and to some extend hurt. "We fought yesterday, and the seal acted up badly. They moved him to the hospital in Konoha last night. "

"Wait, but if he's not here-"

"Kakashi officially withdrew his name. There are just the two of us now."

Sakura had to let that sink in for a few seconds. Naruto had to withdraw? "But he was fine since that fight with the Sound ninjas."

"He hid it from us," Sasuke said, anger clear in his voice. "He said it itched. Itched his ass! It was killing him and he had the audacity to not say anything."

Sakura didn't know what do. He had never seen Sasuke-kun so upset. She thought of taking his hand like she did the girls when they were crying, but she knew a boy like Sasuke-kun wouldn't like that. She needed to say something to ease his worries, but 'it'll be okay' or 'he'll be fine' somehow fell short.

So she went with her instinct. "I'm glad you care this much," she said. Sasuke-kun looked at her like she just socked him in the jaw. "I never see you hang out with anyone since back in the Academy and to be honest I've always been a little worried that you might be lonely." She tried to smile. "I'm glad you care about Naruto. At least you're not alone any more."

Sasuke looked at her like he didn't understand a thing she said. Then his face turned to anger. "I don't care about him. He is just an assignment Kakashi gave me to improve my skills that's all," he snapped.

Sakura blinked. "I don't understand," she said.

He huffed. "Kakashi said I lack the ability to gather information from socialization, so he gave me an assignment to try to befriend Naruto. I couldn't careless what happen to that moron. If he couldn't even think of telling us what's going on-"

Sasuke-kun cut himself short, stood up, and walked off. For a moment, she thought of following him but she figured he needed to blow some steam. Sakura wouldn't be able to help him anyway. When she turned back to scan the room, she found Ino looking at her sympathetically while Shikamaru just shook his head. Even Chouji had even stopped eating to see how she was doing.

Sakura stood up and moved over to Ino's table.

/***/

End of Chapter 9

** TacticalDubstep SupernaturalHearts Chubby-King-Chocobo Glorilian** Thank you so much guys! I hope you're ready for the shit-storm that's coming up.

** Emerald Time** Thank you so much! Well, since some of your questions will be answered in this and the next few chapters, I'm going to just answer the ones that won't come up. Ino was just speculating about Naruto with Sakura, so Naruto being the Kyuubi vessel is not yet a confirmed fact for them. They even think it's kind of ridiculous (and hence laughing their asses off). If only they know how close they are to the fact.

** ZyiareHellsing** I'm pretty sure Ino ships them. :D

** Guest** Oh, I totally agree with you that Naruto and Sasuke are _very_ capable of hurting each other, physically and emotionally (and we're going to see a lot of that before all this is said and done). I think we don't ever get to see how Naruto could have hurt Sasuke because there is always a clear faith in Naruto's goodness, while there is nothing like that for Sasuke even before he turns full-on baddie material. I don't know if there will be a 'hurt him and you die' on Sasuke's behave yet. I'm inclined to write a scene of that. At this point, I don't think their friends are willing to accept that Naruto is capable of doing great harm to someone close to him just yet.

** crystal. ward. 9083** There's a looooooong way before we have to decide about that actually. I'm all for seme Naruto, but I'll let the boys tell me what they want.

** nekomode** If you are referring to manga chapter 699 and 700, actually this story is in someway a response to that. I know I'm probably overdoing it since I'm pretty much rewriting the entire thing, but we'll see how this one goes. As for your questions, answering them would constitute spoilers, right? Let's say the answers are coming up in the next ten-or-so chapters, so please stay tuned.

** Killua17** Oh, how I wish Sasuke is that perceptive about his feelings. *sigh*


	10. Chapter 10: Stronger

**A/N:** Again responses to the comments are below and nothing to really warn you guys about for this chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter 10: (What Doesn't Kill You Make You) Stronger**

Sasuke was defeated.

Not in the preliminary third round, of course, although it was a little tough. He didn't sleep well the night before despite being desperately tired. His chakra was pretty low. Most of all his temper was getting to him a lot.

He lost a good portion of his chakra to his opponent when he was too slow to escape him a death grip on his face. The guy was able to steal chakra. What a freak. After being taunted that he was nothing without his chakra, he snapped and went all out on the guy using taijutsu. He might have stolen a few moves from Rock Lee, but in the end it was all him that knocked the guy out.

He should be happy that he got to fight a strong opponent, but he felt nothing. He was numb as he fought. He was numb as he watched. Even as he got to see the strength of monsters like Gaara, Neji, and Lee, there wasn't the thrill there.

He struggled to remember why he wanted to fight strong opponents. He struggled to remember why he used to be so excited. He wanted to be angry with Itachi again so he could be alive like he used to, so he would want to fight people like Gaara like he used to. Right then, he didn't feel like Gaara was worth his attention at all. Gaara was a speck of sand, maybe a danger but nothing more than a peripheral satellite.

At the end of the matches he had to admit that he was fighting a losing battle, a battle he wasn't able admit he was fighting the whole time. Sakura was right. He was lonely. He just never had anything else to measure that loneliness with so he thought he was fine. Once he had tasted the forbidden fruit, he couldn't go back to that any more. He felt like he would die a little inside whenever he tried to. So he admitted defeat and surrendered.

He missed Naruto.

/***/

The room was quite frankly poorly secured. It didn't take much for him to get into the hospital room through the window and sat on the side of the bed. The blond boy looked so peaceful in his sleep. He ran his finger gently on the round cheek. It was surprisingly soft to touch.

"First I thought he was just an insolent child, but he looks so precious sleeping like this. Don't you agree, Kakashi-kun?"

Although the jounin was in fighting stance, he knew there wasn't much Kakashi could do, not against a sannin, especially not with the Nine-tail child in the mix.

"Why are you here, Orochimaru?" the Jounin asked.

"To check on my precious find, of course," Orochimaru replied. "I see you have put a seal on him. That's why he has been unconscious. I had hoped to see him fight in the third round. You shouldn't have been so hasty and ruined my entertainment."

"It's your seal that ruins it. It's interfering with the Nine-tail seal. Naruto nearly got his chakra pathways burned."

"No, he won't," replied Orochimaru. "Usually, I'd just let that happen to see if the body could cope, but Naruto-kun is too important for that and I'm not stupid enough to waste my energy only to get a precious thing like this destroyed." He said as he ran his hand through the boy's hair.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. His hand came up front and sparks started to fly.

"Now, now, we're in a hospital. What do the doctors say about electronics?" Orochimaru chided.

"There are ANBUs guarding this building inside and out. They are all tracking his chakra. You won't be able to take him away."

Orochimaru laughed. Kakashi was a smart kid but never smart enough. "No, I don't need to do that, because Naruto-kun will come to me."

Kakashi eyes' narrowed. "He doesn't need your power or your hideous jutsu."

Orochimaru got up from the bed and walked leisurely to the open window, taunting Kakashi to take the risk. He knew he wouldn't, because Kakashi was too smart for such a rash action. Maybe he should give him another hint. "The question is not what he needs, Kakashi-kun. It's what he wants. Can this puny little village full of insincerity give him that?" he said with a smile before jumping out the window.

Could Kakashi understand what he just said? Maybe. That boy was bright enough.

But would he be able to do anything about it? Orochimaru doubted that very much.

/***/

"I'm sorry, but the patient is in isolated care right now. No visitor allowed," was what the receptionist at the hospital told him when Sasuke arrived the morning after the prelim. He knew he was supposed to rest, but he couldn't sit still in his room. Since he had admitted to himself that he wanted to see Naruto, he didn't see the point of delaying a visit any longer.

As it happened, that was also the answer he got three days later. Since he wasn't Naruto's family or next of kin, no one would answer any of his questions. Nobody would tell him about Kakashi either.

He tried to find Kakashi since the first day he got back from the Chuunin Exam but couldn't get a hold of him. His suspicion was that Kakashi was at the hospital watching over Naruto and avoiding having to explain the situation to Sasuke. He might be young, but Sasuke was not stupid enough to think that a seal or Naruto's condition was something to notify the Hokage about if there wasn't something else at play. Underneath the underneath like Kakashi liked to say.

As of the habit of the past three days. Sasuke sat in the waiting room, intending to stay a couple of hours just in case he could catch Kakashi or anyone asking for Naruto or Kakashi who got a different answer from him. Ino and Shikamaru came by the desk the other day after visiting Chouji to ask about Naruto but was told off in the same vague and indifferent way. Sakura came by to see both Lee and Naruto. She only got directed to Lee's room.

The third day was the first time he heard someone asking for Kakashi. The man stood out even in a village with eccentric fashion sense like Konoha. He reminded him somewhat of Naruto with just how loud he dressed. He just hoped that Naruto wouldn't have long, messy, spiky white hair when he grew old.

Sasuke smirked to himself. The man standing out this much meant that he'd be a perfect diversion. Sasuke stood up. He walked to the drinking fountain, stealing a few flowers from a bouquet a girl had on his way there. He trailed the man up the stairs, careful to keep enough distance and shield his chakra enough to look like civilian. He purposefully dropped his changes when he got to the floor, feigning clumsiness as he picked each of the coins up, the corner of his eyes tracking the white-hair man's movement.

Sasuke noted the door the guy disappeared into. He gathered the rest of the changes, got up, and walked leisurely passed the room. He stole a quick glance on the nameplate and smirked. It said Uzumaki.

He walked on to the next room, using the footsteps of a civilian, opened the door, and got in. In the room was an old couple who looked rather confused at his presence. "Your flowers, Ma'am," he said as he put the flowers in the old lady's hand. She seemed to blush slightly, but Sasuke was too busy increasing the shield of his chakra to be sure.

Before the husband could react, Sasuke was out of the room, walking absolutely noiselessly to Naruto's door.

"This is going to be complicated," came the voice of the man Sasuke had been following. "The five-part seal stops the flow of the extra chakra. That's the only reason his chakra pathways hadn't been burnt out when the cursed seal became active. But I have to say I'm impressed that the kid even survived that. A lesser person might have died mere hours after the cursed seal is put on."

"Naruto is always full of life," came Kakashi's voice. Confirming Sasuke's suspicion that he had been here all along. "What do you recommend we do?"

There was a long sigh. "Tough to say. The instability in his chakra flow comes about because the combination of the three seals. We could take the five-part seal off. The cursed seal would become more stable, BUT if it becomes active again, he might die."

Sasuke swallowed. He didn't know when his throat became so dry.

"I guess ideally we'd want to get rid of the cursed seal, but..."

"Cursed seal is Orochimaru's masterpiece. I still have no idea how to undo it completely, or Anko-chan would have had her peace of mind."

"Speaking of Anko, hers has come back."

There was a pause. "Shit. That was my handy work. Goddamn you, Orochimaru." Then there was another pause. "How about this: You unseal your block on the cursed seal. I'll try to reverse the seal as much as I possibly can then we put the block back on top of it. Then I'll unseal the five-part seal."

"Can you put a limit to the extra reserve?"

"The original seal already has a limit on it. It's just that the cursed seal pulls much more than a body of a kid his age normally would. That's Orochimaru's trick. He makes a person feel like they've become more powerful because of him and so they would seek him out for more power. He is a sly bastard like that."

There was another pause before Kakashi spoke up, "Actually, Jiraiya-sama, I have a request on the behave of my teacher."

The man chuckled. "If you're using you teacher's name, this has to be serious. What is it?"

"Once Naruto has recovered, could you please take him as your student?"

_...What?_

"Hmmm, I don't know, Kakashi. I haven't had students for a long time," Jiraiya said hesitantly. "Honestly, if it's not for this Orochimaru business, I don't think I want to show up. I like writing novels. That's what I do these days."

"I'm afraid that this has to do with Orochimaru as well."

"What of him?"

"He said Naruto will seek him out if Konoha cannot give him what he wants," Kakashi said. "Naruto is strong, but he has been very frustrated about his progress for quite some time now. I am unable to convince him to ease up."

"So you are thinking of throwing the dog a bone by having him train powerful jutsu with me, hoping he'd be satisfied," the man said before letting out a long sigh. There was another pause. "Is he aware that he has-"

"Yes. But he doesn't know how to consciously use it."

Another pause. "I guess I can do that at least," Jiraiya finally said. "The best we can do right now is to teach him to control his extra chakra. He'll be safer from seals like these ones if he knows how to control it of his own free will."

"Naruto has always been a strong-minded individual. I am sure he will be able to master it," Kakashi replied.

Jiraiya huffed. "If you say so, then," he said. "Before we proceed, though, I think we should let our guest in, shouldn't we?"

Sasuke took a step back from the door like it was on fire. Shit. Shit. Shit. They knew he was here. He had to get out before-

"There's no use escaping, Sasuke. I know it's you," came Kakashi's voice before the door swung open. His carefree manners absolutely gone. This was Kakashi's business face. This was Kakashi the ex-ANBU captain. This was not his teacher.

For a moment, he was sure Kakashi was going to kill him for eavesdropping when Jiraiya came into the door way. "So you have been tracking me, huh? Fooled me, too," the man said and chuckled, before turning to Kakashi. "This boy is good, Kakashi. Whose student is this?"

"Mine, actually. He's Naruto's teammate," Kakashi replied. His gaze hadn't left Sasuke.

"Well, good for you. He'll make a really good shinobi one day."

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama," his teacher said before focusing on Sasuke again. "You have trespassed into restricted area and possibly obtained classified information several levels above your clearance. According to protocol, I'll have to send you to Ibiki immediately."

Sasuke remembered the man from the first test in the Chuunin Exam and he had to force himself not to shudder. He didn't look away. An Uchiha did not succumb to fear.

"He got good eyes," muttered Jiraiya like he was appraising a race horse. He pissed Sasuke off.

"I come here because you refuse to tell me anything about what is going on," Sasuke said, his voice steady. "I'm Naruto's teammate. I have the right to know if his life is in danger."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at Kakashi who did not look impressed. "You are operating under the wrong impression. You don't have any rights here." Sasuke let out a 'Tch', his hands clenched in fists. "The reason the information isn't release to you is because it is not relevant. You have the tournament coming up, so focus on your training."

"How am I supposed to train when you're here?" he countered.

"He has a point, you know, "Jiraiya added.

Kakashi gave the man a long suffering look before turning back to Sasuke. "All right, then. I will meet you on top of the waterfall north of here in three days time," he said. "I fully expect you to be there... by climbing the rock face from the bottom by hand. My summon will be watching you. Do you understand?"

Sasuke straightened up and gave his teacher a curt nod.

Kakashi nodded back. He seemed satisfied. "And, oh, by the way," he added, "any word of what you've heard, or any leak to where Naruto is, and you'll be taking full responsibility. Got it?"

The look from Kakashi gave Sasuke chills. He nodded, turned, and walked off.

/***/

When Kakashi first thought of urging Sasuke to talk to Naruto, it was because he knew Sasuke could understand Naruto's pain. He didn't anticipate that Sasuke... well, the best way to put it was Sasuke was obsessed.

Kakashi didn't know why he was surprised by this. It was probably because Sasuke had been so obsessed with revenge that it didn't seem possible that he could ever become obsessed with anything else. However, that would be incorrect. His ability to become single-mindedly focused was the underlying quality that made him a genius. Sasuke would master any technique taught to him because he would not stop until he did. In a way, he was more similar to Rock Lee than both the boys might think. Sasuke just had more advantages due to his bloodline.

Currently Kakashi was worried that the obsessive side would become his student's down fall.

Sasuke was already at their meeting place when Kakashi arrived. He was sweating and panting from practicing taijutsu as Kakashi ordered him to.

"You're late," Sasuke said.

Kakashi did not reply to that comment. "I see that you've been following my order," he said. "You can take a break. I need to talk to you about something before we start."

Sasuke nodded and looked at him expectantly. Kakashi wasn't entirely sure how his student was going to take this.

"Your assignment is revoked. You don't have to try to talk to Naruto anymore."

Sasuke's eyes widen as he shouted "WHAT!?"

"It seems that the assignment has become a distraction. Right now you have to focus on training and getting stronger. Your first opponent is Gaara. You can't afford to lose focus."

Sasuke let out a barely audible 'Tch'. His eyes flickered to the side before he looked back at Kakashi and nodded. The frown on his face probably meant he disagree but knew he had no other choices but to obey.

"Okay, now that this is out of the way," Kakashi began, "let's start our program, shall we?"

/***/

The hospital was probably in riot. After all he told his clone to release an hour after he left. This was already an hour and Naruto had found the person he was looking for.

"Trust Kakashi-sensei to enlist another pervert for my training," he muttered before jumping quietly up to the roof of a bathhouse. A man with long, spiky white hair was sitting there watching the female pool with a wide smile on his face. Typical. "Hey, old man, peeping really isn't a good hobby, don't you think?"

The guy turned to him with a sour face. "Just be quiet, you little runt. This is not peeping. This is research."

Oh, yeah? "Research my ass, you pervert hermit! And why are we meeting in a place like this anyway."

"Shhh, do you want us to get caught?" he whispered back urgently.

"It's only _you_ who's going to get caught, old man. I'm not the one peeping here-" was all he could say before something hard hit his head. The last thing he saw was a mob of pink hair among the women in the pool.

/***/

After hearing the satisfying bang and watch the blob of orange and white fell on the roof. Sakura sat down in the pool with a triumphant humph while the rest of the women in the pool muttered and shout about peeping toms. The white hair man on the roof quickly escaped, taking Naruto with him.

Ino whistled loudly before saying, "Impressive shot, girlfriend." She didn't tightened up her towel the way a lot of girls did when they realized they were watched. Ino had always been very comfortable in her own skin, something Sakura never fully managed.

Sakura just shrugged. "Practice," she said and relaxed back into the warm water.

Ino smirked and said, "Too bad we wouldn't get to see that in the tournament."

"I'll get there next time," said Sakura. She was sure Ino was aiming for the same goal as well. "How about Shikamaru? Is he moaning much about the fact that he had to fight an extra round?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "All the time, sister. Chouji and I will be training with him tomorrow. I'm so not looking forward to it." She sighed. "What about you? Your entire team has disappeared, hasn't they?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Sakura replied. Sasuke disappeared with Kakashi to do a special training while Naruto was supposed to do the same with another teacher. She was left all alone, like an unwanted child. She wondered if this was what Naruto felt being left behind.

"Hey," Ino said, nudging Sakura's shoulder lightly with hers, "What about you come with me tomorrow for the training."

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "And listen to Shikamaru complaining all day? Gosh, no."

"Not for that, stupid. We can leave Shikamaru with Chouji and get some real training done ourselves. Shikamaru is such a slacker anyhow. He'll only drag us down."

The thought of training got her blood pumping again. "Okay! Let's have a relaxing day today and train hard tomorrow then!" she replied. They did a sister fist bump before kicking back and relaxing some more.

If she wasn't assigned to train with someone, she thought, she would get some training herself. Naruto and Sasuke-kun would have to watch out for her next.

/***/

End of Chapter 10

**A/N: **That trick with the coins Sasuke used was stolen from a scene in the Korean movie _Cold Eyes,_ which is a _damn good_ spy/cop movie in my humble opinion. If you can get a hand on it, watch it! :P

** nekomode** Thank you so much. We'll have to see if I can keep this up. I'm of the opinion that sadistic writers write good stories (G.R.R. Martin anyone?), so I'm practicing. *grin widely*

** Emerald Time** I'm quite far ahead in the draft so I can update regularly (for now at least). Oh, no. I don't think the boys wanna know what the girls were talking about. Ignorance is bliss, really.

** Killua17** Cannot say it better myself. I want to hit that duck-butt of his sometimes. But I think Naruto is just as bad when it comes to his pride.

** TacticalDubstep** Thanks! This chapter is pretty mellow, so I hope I didn't set your expectation up too high from the last one.

** SupernaturalHearts** Darkish Naruto is actually really hard to write because his natural disposition just doesn't lend to it as much as Sasuke's. That's sort of why I have to start from the beginning, because otherwise it wouldn't make sense to me. I'm glad it works. I just hope it can keep on working after the time skip.

** Guest** Okay, so I thought it's obvious that there are plenty of people who were given the cursed seal but were not intended to be Orochimaru's vessels. Apparently not. Assuming he marks Naruto with the same reason he marks Sasuke in the canon is one assumption too many. (And let's just admit it, Orochimaru has a type. I think that's pretty obvious.)

** ZyiareHellsing** I think Shikamaru is too smart to get in between them when they were fighting, but he was definitely keeping an eye on them the entire time.


	11. Chapter 11: Face Your Demons

**A/N:** Nothing to warn for this one, and the response to your comments are below. There are some really long ones so sorry about that. (There is a reason I can't use twitter after all.) I really enjoy reading about what you guys think of the characters, the plot, and the speculations because that helps me think too! However, I can't really reply to the speculations with a concrete answer, which is unfortunate because I do want to answer them. I also love the short reviews. It's like getting a warm pat in the back that keeps me going! Thank you!

**Chapter 11: Face Your Demons**

A month was a short time for training. Kakashi knew this well. There was a limit to the human capability, Sharingan or no Sharingan, to learn something until the understanding became innate to oneself.

Uchiha Sasuke was different because, Sharingan or no Sharingan, his capability had always been much higher than most. Kakashi could push him for hours at a time, forcing him to build up his stamina and use the utmost of his ability to keep up. Sasuke trained well under pressure. His eyes were getting faster at detecting and predicting movements. His body was also gaining speed at such a fast rate that Kakashi couldn't help but be a little jealous. What they needed to do was closing the gap between the two, hopefully within the month.

They camped out near the training ground for that sake, also for the sake of isolating Sasuke from the rest of competition. Not only was he a potential target of Orochimaru, Gaara of the Sand was not known to be the most stable of shinobi. Right then, Sasuke had nothing on the sand boy.

But it seemed that Gaara was hell-bent on targeting Sasuke regardless. He even showed up on the training ground one fine afternoon. Kakashi was ready to stop the bloodshed, but it appeared that Gaara just wanted a chat. He was, in fact, on a mission to convince Sasuke that they really should try and kill each other off to prove who deserved to live. Kakashi found the reasoning disturbing. Sasuke, wisely, did not respond.

Kakashi had thought that it was because Sasuke was too focus on the training to be bothered, but that night he found the boy lying on his back in the opening watching the pitch black sky littered with stars. Kakashi could tell that he wasn't asleep by the pattern of his breathing. It was deep, but not slow enough.

"You should be in bed, " said Kakashi as he made his way to the boy and stood at his side. "You'll need your strength tomorrow."

"I can't sleep," said Sasuke. His eyes was still on the sky above. His brows furrowed like he was in thought.

Kakashi sighed. "Don't give Gaara too much thought, Sasuke. You just need to focus on defeating him," he said, knowing that if anything was on Sasuke's mind, it was probably Gaara's twisted logic.

"He said I have the same eyes as his," Sasuke began; "What he was saying is that I am the same as him."

Kakashi was surprised and alarmed on equal measure by Sasuke's line of thought, but he just lifted an eyebrow and said nothing.

Sasuke continued, "I've lived to kill Itachi. I don't care if I have to become a monster to do it." His hand clenched into a fist that was so tight his arm was shaking. "I am going to kill him because he killed my family and my clan. He took the lives of the people I loved. That would have been a simple answer, isn't it?"

"You don't need to tell him anything," Kakashi said as he sat down. "There is no need for you to justify yourself to him."

"No. Telling him doesn't mean anything. He won't understand anyway even if he said he was the same as me. It doesn't matter what I could have told him," said the young Uchiha. His voice suddenly became quieter, "I just don't know what I have to do any more."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows at this.

"I still want to kill Itachi. Don't mistake this for me giving up on my goal, Kakashi," Sasuke said. "But I don't know anymore what it meant to be truly strong. Knowing all the jutsu? Being able to beat every shinobi in this world? Knowing how to win in every kind of conflict? Would I still be strong if I can't save of someone close to me from pain or death?"

Kakashi just knew then where this was heading. He had seen the look on Sasuke's face when Naruto was finally moved to the hospital: the warring of anger, frustration, guilt, and self-doubt.

"Naruto being in the hospital wasn't your fault," said Kakashi. He might not have witness Naruto's cursed seal acting up, but he knew what had transpired. He knew Sasuke had done his best to calm Naruto down. He was holding him close even when Naruto was clawing on his back until it was pretty much torn.

Sasuke turned to him, his eyes bright and angry. "How could you know?" Sasuke said through gritted teeth. "You don't know what I said to him or he said to me. How could you know I didn't trigger the seal by accident?"

"Precisely. Even if you did, it was an accident. You did not want to hurt Naruto and could not have predicted that the seal would become active. You were not at fault," Kakashi replied. Sasuke was breathing harder. "What happened to you family was not your fault, too."

"I know that!" Sasuke snapped.

"But you think that there is an off chance that it might have been your fault, don't you?" Kakashi continued. "You think there might have been something you could have done-"

"Stop it! STOP!" Sasuke yelled. He got up and faced Kakashi, Sharingan blaring from the tide of intense emotion. "It wasn't my fault. It wasn't because I was too weak and too much of a coward. I didn't kill Mother and Father!"

Kakashi watched him calmly, remembering the pain when he found his father's body lying on the floor, remembering how it was to be overcome with guilt for not coming home earlier, remembering how difficult it was to finally understand that the fault wasn't his. "You are right, Sasuke. None of that was your fault. The only person to be blamed for your clan's slaughter is your brother, and only him." He watched carefully as Sasuke looked at him in surprise. "Being weak is not a crime. Hurting others is. It is as simple as that. So you can hate him, Sasuke, but do not hate yourself. You deserve to live on. _I_ will make sure you live on."

The Sharingan slowly faded, but the boy's breaths were still heavy. Sasuke didn't meet his gaze, but Kakashi knew he wasn't crying. Tears of self-pity were for the weak. Sasuke was too strong for that.

He didn't expect Sasuke to ask, "What about Naruto?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"What happened that made his eyes look like that?" Sasuke asked. "What kind of baggage does he carry?"

Kakashi sighed. "If there is anyone should be carrying that baggage, it isn't him," he replied. Sasuke looked puzzled, but Kakashi didn't let the boy ask any further. He got up. "Time for bed. You have an early start tomorrow."

He could feel the pair of intense black eyes boring a hole into his back as he led the way back to their camp, but Sasuke didn't say anything, as if knowing that Kakashi wasn't willing to share. However, he knew that Sasuke might just be letting him off easy this time.

/***/

Sasuke didn't realize how much his body ached until his back hit the bed again. He got a day off because Kakashi was called to an emergency meeting. The look from his teacher meant that this meeting was supposed to be a secret and so Sasuke could not even imply that Kakashi had duty that day. Sasuke didn't mind much. They had to get more supply for the camp anyway, so that was as good an explanation as any.

He slept in late, letting his sore body relaxed for the first time in two weeks, before setting out for the grocery store where he accidentally walked into Shikamaru in the fruit isle.

"Oi, finally back to the Land of the Living?" Shikamaru greeted him as he picked a fruit basket.

"For a day," was Sasuke's reply. The snack bars, soup bars, and painkillers in Sasuke's basket should speak for themselves. "You're going to visit someone?" He nodded towards the fruit basket.

Shikamaru sighed. "Chouji got a stomach ache from overeating," he said; "And Naruto got admitted two days ago from chakra exhaustion."

Sasuke couldn't quite believe his ears. Chakra exhaustion? Naruto? What kind of training did that Jiraiya put him through?

Shikamaru looked at him with a smirk on his face. He must have looked completely dumbfounded. "Unbelievable, isn't it? I'm going to see for myself if that's even true. I bet he's up and running already." Then he walked off. "See you around."

Sasuke took his basket to the cashier right away, not bothering with the few items he still had to get. He didn't bother to put the supply away properly before darting out of his apartment and headed for the hospital. It was only in front of the main entrance that Sasuke realized how utterly foolish he had been behaving.

He was going to visit Naruto, the person whom his last interaction with was to throw punches and insults at then watched him roll on the floor in agony. The result of their altercation had led to Naruto being withdrawn from the last round of Chuunin Exam. Sasuke knew objectively that it wasn't his fault that the cursed seal acted up, but he also knew that he had contributed to that. He was the one who took Naruto off the rest of the exam by his inability to control himself and the conversation so to not let it blow up. What was he going to say when they met? Sorry? Was that even enough?

And in light of that, would his presence cause further complication if Naruto couldn't forgive him? What if he didn't want to see Sasuke ever again?

The last thought caused an unpleasant twinge in his chest. No, their argument was too childish to let it cause that much of an effect. If Naruto was going to be angry with him, so be it, but they have to get this out of the way or the team would fall apart.

So he took a deep breath, counted one to ten, and walked on.

The room was quiet as he opened the door. He poked his head in and found it empty except for one bed. Sasuke could see the feet propping up the blanket sticking out from the partition. He closed the door behind him walked over quietly. He only realized that he was holding his breath when Naruto's plaint form came into view. He was sleeping. Their confrontation was not going to happen today.

Sasuke took a quick look at Naruto's chart, as squiggly as the writing was, and the only thing that was written on there was the time and date of admission and that he had been unconscious. Naruto, unconscious from chakra exhaustion for almost three days. Nothing was written of what might have been the cause.

His lips pressed into a thin line as he moved up the bed. He pulled the blanket down a few inches and pulled back the collar of Naruto's t-shirt to expose the nap of his neck. The seal was still there, encircled by a ring of black scripts that felt like chakra-enhanced ink under Sasuke's fingers. Otherwise, the seal didn't look any different from before and that left him uneasy. He wondered if the seal acted up again and that was why Naruto was in the hospital for so long. Did Naruto burnt his chakra pathways?

He pulled his hand back when he heard the door cracked open. Shikamaru poked his head in, saw him, and said, "So you're here."

Sasuke just looked at him like he was an imbecile for stating the obvious.

Shikamaru wasn't fazed. "I won't interrupt you for long. They're going to serve food soon, and Chouji has been unbearable about hospital food, so I was thinking of sitting it out here. I can do it somewhere else."

"You can come in. I'm leaving anyway," Sasuke said. He pulled the blanket back up the blond boy's chin and tried to walk as coolly as possible to the door.

Shikamaru said, "You don't have to go, you know. They said he'll wake up any moment now. He'll be thrilled to see you here."

Sasuke wanted to believe that, but their last argument was still on his mind. "I doubt it," he said. "Besides, I have things to prepare before getting back to training."

Shukamaru sighed. "Sure," he said as he walked over and took a seat beside Naruto's bed, fruit basket in hand. "I don't envy you. Seriously, that Gaara is a monster. I'd forfeit if I had to fight him."

Sasuke realized then that despite them working well together, Shikamaru really was very different from him. Shikamaru wouldn't do any extra work if he could get away with it. Sasuke would do everything straight up and then some. Shikamaru didn't seem motivated to be the strongest or the smartest or the best at anything. Sasuke had been chasing the number one spot since he first mastered his chakra.

"Can I ask you something?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and said, "That's uncommon. What's up?"

"What is your dream?" he asked. "What do you live for?"

Shikamaru seemed surprised by this. He blinked. "Well, I just want a simple life. I was going to be a so-so ninja and earn an okay salary, marry a regular girl and have two kids, a boy and a girl, then I'll retire when my kids become independent and play shogi in my relaxing retirement." He shrugged. "That's all, really."

"That's... oddly specific," replied Sasuke, and deceptively simple.

"You think so? Those are just the things I want to wake up to everyday, that's all. I found that it's better to have a mental image in mind of what the goal will really look like instead of the one-line thing people typically tell themselves. It gives you more motivation."

Sasuke snorted at this. If this was a motivated Shikamaru, he didn't want to see the other one.

"That's why just winning in a fight doesn't count much to me," Shikamaru continued. "To you and Naruto, winning means everything."

The tone Shikamarau used was odd, like he was chiding both Naruto and Sasuke in a rather laid back way. Sasuke just looked at him as he digested what Shikamaru just said.

"Don't win the battle and lose the war, that's all I'm saying," said Shikamaru as he pulled out a book from his pocket. "I don't mind if you change your mind and stay, but I'm gonna read now."

"No, I'm leaving," said Sasuke. This time he made it to the door. "Thanks for staying with Naruto."

Shimakamaru just waved, his eyes never left the book, so Sasuke took the cue and closed the door behind him. He spent that evening as he waited for Kakashi meditating in the clearing . Even as the moon came up and the sky turned pitch black, he still couldn't come up with a mental image of the future he wanted.

/***/

When she walked into the arena for the last round of the Chuunin Exam, Sakura didn't quite know what to feel.

When she first apply for the exam, she honestly didn't think she was ready for the challenge so she didn't set herself up with any hope of passing. Now that she had completed the first two stages, she was ridiculously disappointed that she didn't get to be in the last round.

Ino, though, thought it was for the best. How would she fight monsters like Neji and Gaara if the insanely talented Rock Lee couldn't. She would just be dead or, worse still, publicly humiliated. Sakura agreed, although it was by no mean meant that she was happy with her current situation.

And then there was Naruto.

She was toying with the idea of asking him to come to the tournament with her and Ino, but she didn't know how he would react. Naruto never did anything without the hope of accomplishing the task. She knew he wanted to pass. Naruto having to withdraw due to a complication that was hardly his own fault was heartbreaking. In the end, she didn't ask him, blaming it on the fact that he wasn't around much for the past month.

But Naruto did come to the arena. He seemed cheery as he greeted them and then ran to the front and shouted a good luck to Shikamaru, causing everybody to give him stinky eyes. Sakura and Ino sighed. Naruto really was energetic.

She watched him as he walked back to her with a frown on his face. She was about to ask what was going on when he said, "Where's Sasuke? Isn't the tournament about to start?"

"I don't know," replied Sakura. He was not the type for tardiness, though. "I'm sure it's Kakashi-sensei who holds him back. He'll be here shortly."

She wasn't entirely sure if she was comforting him or herself. There were only five matches schedule for the first round, but two competitors already withdrew. There wasn't much of a margin for Sasuke-kun to be late. Naruto must have seen her nervousness, too, because he smiled a little and said, "You're right like always, Sakura-chan. He'll be here in no time. I better get to my seat then." Then he ran up the arena to the back where he sat alone in a corner. Sakura felt immensely guilty about it.

Hyuuga Neji won the first round like they knew he would but only by a small margin. As it turned out Inuzuka Kiba with a vengeance was a formidable fighter. It seemed that he took Neji mental and physical attacks on Hinata in the prelim rather personally. Neji even asked once why Kiba cared so much which prompted Kiba to launch a monologue about family, acceptance, growth, and a proclamation that sounded dangerously like a love confession, in front of Hinata's father no less. Neji in turn told him about the Hyuuga and pretty much aired all the dirty laundry of his clan to the world.

It was painful to watch this tournament, something that should have been rather clean cut and impersonal, turned into something so private and emotional. Watching Kiba fell unconscious afterward even as he tried to prove Neji wrong was the worst. She spotted Hinata coughing out blood as the medic team took the dog boy away, but the announcement of the next round pretty much distracted her.

It was supposed to be Gaara versus Sasuke next, but Sasuke-kun was nowhere to be found. For a moment she thought he might get disqualified. A part of her was a little relief if she was to be honest with herself. If Sasuke-kun was disqualified, he didn't have to face Gaara whom, she knew from watching his fight with Rock Lee, was ruthless enough that he would kill his opponent rather than subdue them.

But they moved his matched back, something that was odd considering the small tolerance for tardiness in the entire exam process. Kankuro forfeited even before he fought Shino, which was also odd. Then Temari and Shikamaru took the stage.

On hindsight, she should have taken her 'something was off' feeling more seriously, but Sasuke-kun's lateness distracted her that she only realized her mistake when the genjutsu set in.

Practicing with Naruto and Sasuke-kun helped her dispelled it immediately. The arena turned into a battlefield as squads of Sound and Sand shinobi started their attacks. Sakura quickly ducked down behind the seat, pulling her best friend Ino who was less fortunate with the genjutsu with her. At least on the ground Ino would be safe until the battle was over.

When she peeked up again, she spotted Naruto coming down the stairs towards her with occasional dash to the side to hide. The enemy didn't seemed to care that he was there since they were all engaged with Leaf's jounin. She quickly waved at him at one point before ducking again because Kakashi-sensei needed to smash the skulls of two more enemies in close proximity to her face.

"I have an A-rank mission for you," Kakashi-sensei told her when the wave of attack died down. "I want you to take Naruto and Sasuke out of here."

Sakura's eyes widen. "Why is that an A-rank mission?" he asked frantically as Kakashi spilled more blood.

"No time to explain in detail right now, but there is someone here who wants Naruto and possibly Sasuke and he must not get to them. You have to protect them."

"But, but if he's strong, I won't be able to do that!" she shouted over the sound of the fights going on around her. She looked down from the arena and realized that Sasuke-kun and the sand siblings were gone. "Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke's gone!"

It was then that Naruto showed up crawling between the seats. Kakashi-sensei spotted him and nodded. "Good to see you, Naruto. Now, a little change of plan, Sakura. Take Shikamaru and Naruto and track down Sasuke," he said.

"But how?" asked Naruto; "The Bastard followed Gaara right after the attack started. He's far away by now."

Kakashi-sensei quickly performed a summoning and before them was a pug, looking at them both with a slightly bored expression. "I'll track down Sasuke," said the dog who introduced himself as Pakkun. They quickly located Shikamaru in the observation deck and got him out of playing possum. Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei helped deflect the attack of the Sound ninjas in the arena and created an escape for them in a form of a literal hole in the wall.

"Now to reinstate the mission," said Kakashi-sensei, "I want you four to track down Sasuke and take him with you to a safe location, a hideout on the Hokage mountain, and stay there. Got it?"

"Got it," said Pakkun. "Take care, ol' boy."

"Duly noted," said Kakashi-sensei before he jumped into battle as the four of them escaped.

Pakkun led the three of them away from the arena and down the winding streets littered with bombs, bloods, and bodies. She didn't have time to be afraid or to even let all this sink in. She just kept running along with Naruto and Shikamaru. Shikamaru wasn't much of a motivator, but Naruto had the look of determination in his eyes that kept her grounded. He was a target himself but he didn't falter. She wasn't sure if he knew this or if it was news to him too, but Naruto didn't seem to let it get in the way of the mission. Sakura knew she couldn't either. If they were going to be safe, they had to focus on the task and get out of the place.

They were, as expected, pursued. Shikamaru broke away from the team first to create diversion. Sakura knew he was a genius in his own right, but this was the first time she was allowed into his thought process. She couldn't be more marveled, but again she didn't have time. They just kept on speeding after Pakkun who was leading them to Sasuke-kun's direction.

She had expected Sasuke-kun to confront Gaara. What she didn't expect was the literal monster Gaara became. Half of his body turned into a vile creature with a tail and extendable arms made of sand. His quiet demeanor became confrontational and psychotic. He sent chills down her spine.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto's voice shook her out of her head. He didn't look at her. His eyes were fixed at Gaara as he said, "Sasuke."

Her gaze shifted to Sasuke-kun then. He collapsed on a branch, his left arm shaking out of control. She automatically went for him. Naruto landed between Sasuke-kun and Gaara, effectively shielding them from further attack. Sasuke-kun was conscious but in considerable pain. She pressed her lips together as she watched electric shock running up and down his arm. He obviously forced himself to use Chidori at his limit and the jutsu went wrong.

"Get going already," Naruto yelled at her although he never looked their way. "I'll guard your back."

"No!" Sakura countered. "The order is to take the two of you to safety. You have to come with us, Naruto."

"Seriously not possible right now, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura was about to argue with him when Gaara suddenly charged forward, not at Naruto but towards her. Sakura, on instinct, pulled out her kunai and threw herself on top of Sasuke-kun. She knew she wouldn't be able to seriously hurt Gaara with this even if she tried, but she would protect her friend. She really didn't think about the possibility of death at all until the hit sent her flying onto a nearby tree, knocking air out of her lungs. Gaara's monstrous hand pinned her there as he towered over Sasuke who was still too hurt to move.

She wanted to break free, but the pain of being slammed into a tree was too much. The grip was so tight she couldn't breathe. She knew she was going to lost consciousness soon even as she tried to dig her kunai into the monster's hand. It wouldn't work - she knew this - but she tried anyway, because both Naruto and Sasuke-kun were precious to her. She wanted to protect them. She needed to protect them.

That was her last thought as her hand lost grip of the weapon and the world turned black.

/***/

End of Chapter 11

**A/N:** And now the response to your comments.

** Kamui5 jmtothemusic ZyiareHellsing **Thank you! Please come back for more!

** Chubby-King-Chocobo** Thank you! Yeah, I agree with you that Naruto would still attracts people to him because he still has this great capability to care, but how is he going to use it is another story altogether (and I don't really know the full length of this yet. We'll have to see).

** Guest** If I remember correctly, Orochimaru wants Sasuke because of his bloodline limit, so, honestly, if Orochimaru had his way, he would have marked them both. (And if anybody wants to write the story where they both got marked, I'd _love_ to read it. *Blatant sale of plot bunny* Ahem.) The reason it doesn't happen here is mainly because of timing. I actually have a gripe about how Sasuke got the cursed seal in the canon. He is supposed to be fast. He is supposed to be smart. Why the *bleep* does he stand around waiting for the fire on Orochimaru's face to die down when he knew that he was in no way strong enough to beat the guy? The timing seems forced in a way that would let Orochimaru get Sasuke when, honestly, there are a vast number of things that could have happened in that time and a vast number of consequences that could have followed. My version, I think, is one of those conceivable scenarios if Sasuke doesn't suddenly turn into stone and if Naruto was screaming in the background. And not marking Sasuke does not mean Orochimaru is not interested anymore. He just has a bigger fish to fry at the moment.

I could go on in detail as to why everything in the scene happens the way it did, but I don't think I should because it would seem too deliberate (actually that last couple of paragraphs more or less fell onto my lap; there was no deliberate thinking involved), and imposing too much of my logic on a scene that can have multiple interpretations. There are conceivable ways of making Sasuke getting the seal without the pause, but this one seems more natural to me given the circumstances, so I'm going with it. That's all

** TacitcalDubstep** I can guarantee that there is something up to chapter 35. So it's not going to get abandoned before then. No promise after that yet, but if I run into problems, I'll let you guys know beforehand. Sounds fair?

** Guest **My impression of Sasuke is that he is more cerebral than Naruto, so the change is more internal rather than external, which is so _damn_ hard to write at times. So I'm glad there is actually some detectable changes. Whether he listen to Kakashi or not, the thing about change is that it is not necessarily going to lead to good things, right? Sasuke still has his baggage (*cough* Itachi *cough*) which is something Naruto in the canon doesn't have, so it's going to be complicated. And that's as much as I can say on this topic for now. And, yeah, the post-time skips story is killing me because things have been changed so much it's impossible to follow the canon anymore and I have to make up a lot of things on the way. I hope I can keep the quality of the writing at least at a decent level. Thank you for your faith in me. That really means a lot.

** Killua17** I think Sasuke sees the connection. He is just in denial about what he wants to do with it which *sigh* is such a drag to the writer, honestly.


	12. Chapter 12: Dance With The Devil

**A/N:** This chapter is pretty short and are mostly just fight scenes. So standard warning for violence. The next chapter will more than compensate for the length of this one.

Also, I've changed the fight between Gaara and Naruto from the canon quite a lot because I wanted the scene to be as grounded in the characters as possible and giant monsters simply don't do it for me. If you were expecting that, sorry.

**Chapter 12: Dance With The Devil**

Naruto saw red the moment the kunai fell from Sakura-chan's hand and her head rolled to the side. He jumped from the tree with a loud cry as he aimed several shuriken at Gaara's head. He could feel the chakra pumping in his arms, powering the shuriken like he never could have done otherwise. All of them hit the sand defence, of course, but that was also what Naruto wanted. He quickly grabbed the hard sand wall and threw himself over Gaara's head, dropping down on the other side and swinging his elbow to the redhead's face. His speed still wasn't enough to beat the sand and he was sent flying into a nearby tree.

He just barely heard Pakkun over the sound of his ears ringing from the impact. The damn dog was jabbing away, but Naruto couldn't make out what he was saying. He didn't even try to. His field of vision narrowed to where Sasuke was lying, barely conscious and in pain, under Gaara's shadow. Gaara's eyes however was on Naruto. Naruto smirked and lunged forward. His hands flew into the familiar hand sign and dozens of shadow clones appeared beside him. There was no way the sand could protect Gaara from all the attacks at once.

But as soon as they swarmed Gaara, they were all blasted off when he transformed even further. Sand shuriken went flying. One of his clone barely got a chance to hide Sasuke away before it got hit and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"You got good eyes," Gaara, no, the monster told him. His body was almost covered entirely in sand and his voice was something between a man's and a beast's. There was barely a sign of a human in there anymore. "So much hate and pain. Why is that I have not seen this in you before? What are these two to you?"

Naruto got up again. His body was aching all over, but he still tried to stand. "They are my comrades," he replied. "I will _destroy you_ if you hurt them! So release Sakura and let Sasuke go! Your playmate is here, you psycho!"

At that he called upon the Kyuubi's chakra, remembering the burn of fire in his vein as he pulled on the reserve he normally wouldn't. The cursed seal ached. It was on the verge of reacting but he didn't care. He needed to bring Gaara's attention to him. He wasn't going to let something as puny as that stop him.

The monster's eyes turned manic. A grin was on its face as he gazed at him in delight. "That chakra... Finally, a worthy opponent!" he sneered as he lunged forth. Naruto did the same. He went straight for Gaara but dodged over him in the last few second and land right behind him with an explosive tag and slapped it on the monster's bottom just in time before the tail hit him. The attack sent him flying away just out of range before the tag went boom. Naruto didn't wait to see how much damage he had caused. He prepared the seal and, as soon as his feet hit a tree, took cover and summoned forth a toad.

The one that came forth, though, was a young toad about the size of a plate.

"Fuck," Naruto cussed under his breath. His chakra wasn't enough. He was holding back too much because of the stupid cursed seal.

"Hey now, no need to be rude," said the toad. "Look at this, I got summoned by an insolent kid."

"You just mess up my plan. I have no time to argue here," he told the toad but didn't took his eyes off Gaara. He wasn't moving, the sand body was damaged, but Naruto didn't spill any blood or cause him any real damage either.

"Oi, what is that?" asked the toad, obviously spotting Gaara. "What creature is that!?"

"Hell if I know," Naruto said. He shifted his gaze to Sakura still trapped on the tree. Pakkun was with her but he couldn't do anything about the claw. "I have two friends and a nin dog who are trapped here. I need help getting them out. Please tell me you can do something about it."

"Err, no," said the toad. "You see, I'm still a kid, so I can't fight or anything."

"Thought so, damn it," Naruto muttered. He had to think something up soon before Gaara moved again.

"Where are you?" growled Gaara, his sand body almost fully restored. "Are you afraid of me now? Is that all you can do?" Then he laughed.

Naruto wanted to punch Gaara in the face, but he knew he couldn't do that, not with the ability he had at the moment. He had to get faster and stronger. But he had very limited options. He wasn't as fast or as good in taijutsu as Lee and Sasuke. All he had was power. Jiraiya said that he could use it to his advantage, but the cursed seal was in the way. If he let it out now...

"Hey," he turned to the toad. "Is there a way that you could, I don't know, knock my friends out?"

The toad looked at him in surprise. "Why would you want to do that?" he asked.

"Because..." Naruto felt his throat closed up. "Because I can't beat him while they are watching. Actually, I don't want you to get involved either, and for that I'm truly sorry, but I really need your help. Please tell me there is something you can do about it."

It might be the tone of his voice, but the toad looked sad. Naruto was desperate. He couldn't let them see him like that again. He couldn't.

"What are you afraid of?" asked the toad.

Naruto let out a ragged breath and dropped his head. He couldn't answer. What could he tell this toad that would convey the feeling of looking Sakura in the eyes and just knew she was afraid of him, of the monster that he was? How could he know if Sasuke wasn't disgusted by what he became? Could he unload those things on an innocent young thing like this baby toad? He couldn't. He just couldn't.

"Oi."

That voice shook Naruto out of his trance although it was far away and not directed at him. There on a branch was Sasuke, standing with his back against the tree trunk but still managed to look like he owned the world. He was talking to Gaara.

_No. Stop, you idiot! What are you-_

"Stop pestering Naruto. You wanted to fight me, didn't you?"

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I'm so going to beat you to mush after this, Sasuke!_

"Indeed, Uchiha," replied the monster, "but that was before I got to see that look in his eyes. I have not seen such a monster in a while."

Sasuke's brows twitched. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Naruto stared at him blankly.

"Naruto was the class's dead-last. The only thing he was good at in school was pranks. He's the worst at following orders. He might be alone like you and I, but he is _not_ a monster."

"Oh," Gaara muttered. "You haven't truly seen him then. That is all right. I will _show_ him to you."

Sasuke's reply was, "I've seen him more than you ever did. Don't talk about him like you know him!"

"But do _you_ truly know him, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sasuke let out a 'Tch' and went into a fighting stance. He could only held it for three seconds before falling on his knees. Gaara laughed as he lunged forwards with his monstrous arm swinging and Naruto was up on his feet. Time seemed to slow as he raced towards Sasuke. He didn't have a plan, not a single idea what to do. The only thing he knew then was that he could not let Sasuke die. He would not be able to live through that again.

He managed to hit the monster's arm hard enough that Gaara fell sideways off the branch he intended on landing, breaking branches below with enough force to shook the forest. Naruto barely had time to twisted and landed on his feet, breaking the bark of a tree, before he could find a place to stand. When he looked down, the monster was there among the debris, looking up at him, grinning at him.

Naruto felt the ache on the side of his neck but he paid it no mind. He heard Sasuke saying something from behind him but he couldn't hear anything but the ringing in his ears. His mind was cleared. He needed to finish Gaara off or his friends would die. It wasn't hard for Naruto to choose.

"Come," Gaara called to him in his half-beast voice. It was a call Naruto eagerly responded. He jumped and Gaara did the same. Time slowed again and he was able to get passed Gaara's arm. He ducked and, with two kunai in hand, cut deep wounds on Gaara's legs before grabbing one and spinning them so he was throwing Gaara to the ground. His body shot up from the force of that throw and he used it to reach a branch before breaking it to pieces, sending the shards raining down on the monster below. He knew it wasn't much of an attack to Gaara but more of a distraction so that Naruto could send shadow clones down with all the explosive tags he got. He rained more shards on Gaara to be sure that he was properly distracted before the clone got under the sand shield and triggered all the tags.

The force of the explosion was enough to shook the ground underneath them, but Naruto knew it wouldn't kill Gaara, not with his sand armor. He had to wait for the smoke to clear to see how much damage he caused. But before he could made out more than a silhouette of the monster, sand shuriken came out of the smoke and hit him hard. One of them launched a small sharp object into his side. Glass. So his plan backfired a little, but he gritted his teeth and moved in.

He had to end it now. His muscles were aching from moving at a such a high speed and he knew he couldn't keep it up for much longer. He charged down full force at the silhouette, betting that Gaara was too injured to move. Naruto didn't have any weapon left, so he went in with his fist aiming at Gaara's human face finally freed of the sand armor. His fist made contact without the sand intervening and he could feel his hand breaking through thin layers of sands and glasses until it made contact with the actual flesh. He could feel the impact of the jaw bone on his knuckles that was sure to break his hand, but he didn't flinch. He was numb to pain by then. He used his other hand to grab Gaara's shoulder as he pulled his fist back for another punch. This time the sand caught him before he could deliver the blow, but just barely, so he switched tactics and head-butted him instead.

Gaara staggered back from the force against his face. Blood was pouring down his nose from the impact and the sand began to fall. Gaara was at the last of his strength, but so was Naruto. Without the sand holding him up, he wobbled and fell at about the same time Gaara did.

"Why," Gaara asked. His voice was human again. "Why fight for the cowards who are afraid of you? Why do they matter?"

Naruto could see the sadness in Gaara's eyes. The eyes that knew loss. The eyes that knew betrayal. The eyes that knew too much hurt that he needed to hurt others.

The eyes like his.

"Because without them, I will be alone," he said. "The pain of loneliness is too much. I don't want to go back there again."

In Gaara's eyes were comprehension but also fear. "They will betray you one day once they truly comprehend the monster that you are."

Naruto knew what he meant, could feel it in his bones. "They won't," he muttered, willing every bit of his heart to believe what he said.

Gaara looked at him in almost pity. It was the most human look Naruto had seen on his face. "They can never love you," he said with the voice that was too grim to be just an observation, and Naruto knew immediately that Gaara warned him because it had happened to him. It could happen to Naruto.

"It's okay," said Naruto, although his voice betrayed how much it hurt him to think that. "They acknowledge me. That's enough."

Gaara's eyes softened and Naruto knew he understood. He reached out his hand and Naruto, by instinct, dragged his beaten body closer trying to reach for him. Gaara was his enemy, but he was the only other person who understood this pain, the pain he couldn't share with anyone, the pain that only ran deeper from the moment Iruka-sensei died.

Naruto had to stop when he couldn't move anymore. His hand was just a few inches away from Gaara, and he cursed himself quietly for not being able to cross that small distance as his vision turned to black.

/***/

"They can never love you."

"It's okay... They acknowledge me. That's enough."

Sasuke stopped on his track at the sound of Gaara's voice: human, tired, and lonely. His heart sank as he heard an equally melancholic reply from Naruto. He wanted to reach them right then, but his body was threatening to fall over every other step. Breaking Sakura's falling proved too much for the current state of his body that he couldn't barely walk any more.

Even so, he tried. Sasuke staggered forward into the clearing that was caused by the blast. Naruto had already passed out, one hand stretching to Gaara and Gaara to him, a gesture that seemed odd considering they were about to kill each other just moments before. But Sasuke didn't stop to ponder the act too deeply. He got down on his knees as soon as he reached Naruto and tried to shake the blond boy awake. Naruto didn't responded. His skin felt increasingly warm so Sasuke rolled him over on his back and pull his open jacket back to check the seal. It was active when Naruto stopped Gaara's attack on him, but it had retreated to his shoulder although it was larger now, the tendrils penetrating the barrier that was put around it.

Naruto whimpered as Sasuke ran his fingers on the pattern. His body was burning up, and, on instinct, Sasuke ran his hand through Naruto's hair in an attempt to calm him down. He didn't care at that point if Gaara or the sand siblings were watching. He just wanted to wipe the frown from Naruto's face and eased the onset of torment that was sure to come.

When he looked up, Gaara was watching him intensely. A lesser man would have flinched, but Sasuke just stared back ,unmoved by the redhead boy. He noticed the wounds on Gaara's legs closing up in front of him and he looked down and saw that Naruto's wounds were doing the same thing.

"What is he to you?" Gaara asked.

Comrade? Friend? Brother? None of that felt right for Sasuke. Naruto was all that, but he doesn't fit into a single word neatly. They competed like brothers. They worked together as comrades. They cared about each other as friends. But they could never, ever get along so well. They were like enemies sometimes. Words, it seemed, were inadequate for describing whatever it was that Sasuke saw in Naruto and Naruto saw in Sasuke.

So he said, "He's dear to me."

Gaara looked at him in dismay. "So is that why," he asked hesitantly, "there is that glint of light in your eyes?"

Sasuke was about to ask what he meant when Temari and Kankuro showed up. Kankuro looked roughed, but he still helped Temari with carrying Gaara. The boy was too exhausted to even move, but he looked back and forth between them like he didn't expect them to really come.

"We'll be heading out," said Temari; "You are in no condition to pursue us any further, Uchiha."

Sasuke didn't like being reminded that very much. "Get lost," he said; "I have more important things to worry about right now."

Kankuro looked at Sasuke and nodded. "Let's go, Temari," he said. The three of them disappeared.

With their presence gone, Sasuke's mind was back to Naruto again. The seal still wasn't completely dormant yet. It was even moving, changing shapes, but fortunately not expanding. Sasuke wanted to take him to Kakashi, but knew that he wouldn't be able to walk that far on his own let alone carrying Naruto with him. He had to wait for help and he hated the fact intensely.

He pulled out his water canteen and started to wet a clothe when he heard a sound something approaching them. Sasuke turned and saw a toad watching him.

"Hi, I'm Gamakichi," said the toad as it approached him. "That boy over there summoned me."

Sasuke scowled. Since when did Naruto know summoning jutsu? "I don't suppose you could give us a lift, could you?" Sasuke asked. It was obvious but he wanted to know just in case.

"No, or else I would have taken you lots to safety like he wanted me to," replied Gamakichi. "But I can get you more water. There's a small stream close by."

Sasuke might be reluctant, but he didn't have a choice. He handed over the almost empty canteen to the toad before turning back to Naruto. He dabbed the wet clothe on the blond boy's face, hoping against hope that his action meant something.

/***/

End of Chapter 12

**A/N: **And now for the reply time!

** wierdsquirrelgirl** You just hit the nail on the head right there! Personally, I don't think Kakashi is capable of understanding that. And I don't think Orochimaru is a pedophile. I don't think he wants sex at all actually, but to me that twist in his head makes him far creepier than that. Also, kudos for the milkshake mental image. Yeah, that's...super creepy actually. *cringe*

** nekomode** Oh, my pleasure! *grin* Seriously, nothing feeds a sadistic writer like a reaction like this. (And, no, I did not just hear what you said in the brackets. Nope. Nothing.)

** Mamori-sama** Great to hear that you don't think it's a drag to actually build everything up from scratch. (Quick build up is a put-off for me, too.) I mean, they are thirteen now in the story. They are not going to be mature enough, sexually and emotionally, for a romantic relationship for a couple more years. I was worried it might bore people out of their minds. Thank you for letting me know it's not boring!

** Reign Of Sorrow** Thanks so much for giving me your reaction to almost every chapters. Yeah, I totally understand your feeling about stupid Naruto. Kishimoto clearly didn't intend for him to be stupid, just not the conventional smart. He is actually pretty clever up until about his fight with Gaara when the collective intelligence of the series begins to slide. And I don't mean to diss Kishimoto on this. Writing and drawing for a weekly magazine is extremely stressful, so I get it. But I'm firm on the belief that smart Naruto is what Kishimoto intended, so I'm going with that. I don't remember what Goku was like in the beginning (that was so long ago, gosh) so it might be the same thing?

** Guest** I can't make any promise about Uzushiogakure, but I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the suggestion.

** Killua17** Itachi's coming. (*Whisper in the same tone as a Stark talks about winter*)

** ougley** Don't worry. You're not the only one.


	13. Chapter 13: Gentle Rain

**A/N:** This is probably one of the longest chapter I've written so far, and, no, Itachi is not here yet, so everyone can come out from hiding...for now

Warning for (accidental) underage drinking.

**Chapter 13: Gentle Rain**

The invasion by Sound and Sand was foiled. Konoha was saved.

But the Sandaime Hokage was also dead.

There was a down pour on the day of the funeral, but no one minded it enough to stop from attending, especially the shinobi, although, not all of them were there on time.

Kakashi didn't want to be on time because it meant he needed to socialize, and he didn't want to, not on an occasion like this. Kakashi was never good with words. He could do insulting. He could do taunting. He could analyze things at great length. What he could not do was giving condolence. He was given many in his life but he never found them helpful and therefore never learnt to reciprocate in kind.

That was why he was at the Stone Memorial rather than the funeral when it started. The company of the dead was good for a day like this.

"So why are you here, Jiraiya-sama?" he asked. He had yet to move from the Memorial or look around, but the presence of the man was too palpable to miss.

"Reminiscing," replied the toad-nin, "about things that people your age probably don't know of about the Third."

Kakashi smirked.

"And I will be heading out soon," continued Jiraiya. "I don't want to get bugged by the Council. They wouldn't let me go otherwise."

"I cannot blame them. We are in somewhat of a crisis. A shinobi who is as powerful or as recognized as the Fourth does not exist right now, except you. You're the Fourth's teacher after all."

"Nonsense," Jiraiya drawled. "That boy was another league of his own. And you know what I think about this whole shinobi business. That's why I have to head out before the Council tries to make me Hokage."

Kakashi inclined his head. He was a fan of Jiraiya's books after all. He knew very well the man's view about a lot of things. "I don't think that is going to be easy, Jiraiya-sama, given they don't have a choice."

"But they do," Jiraiya replied, "if I can get them Tsunade, that is."

Kakashi didn't want to discourage him, but considering Tsunade-hime's reputation, Kakashi wouldn't bet on her ever being found.

/***/

Naruto was in the fifth row with other genin when Asuma-sensei called him forward from the crowd. Apparently the Third had written into his will that Naruto was to stand in the front row next to his grandson Konohamaru at his funeral. Naruto had never felt so many pairs of eyes watching him as he moved passed the jounin and the Hyuuga clan. In other circumstances, he would have loved it. This wasn't one of those occasions.

The first row was for family members or ones that were recognized as such. He and the Third met regularly, but only because he was such a nuisance to the rest of the village. They shouted at each other when Naruto's pranks went too far, but it always ended with Naruto spending the evening organizing the scrolls in the Hokage's office and listening to the old man telling him stories.

Naruto realized after Iruka-sensei's death how much the Third had done for him. Being the vessel of the Nine-tail meant he could have been locked away for life, yet the old man insisted that he had the freedom like everyone else, that he attended the Academy and became a ninja. It was the Third who personally assigned Naruto to Iruka-sensei knowing that somehow they would get along and Naruto would be able to learn from a teacher who could really, truly, see him.

That _thing_ inside Naruto threatened the lives of the people he loved, of the village he loved, but he was still able to look at Naruto and see _him_, not the thing inside him. He even saw Naruto as family. Naruto had to bite his lips the entire precession so not to sob. The old man wouldn't want that, would he?

For Naruto, losing Sarutobi Hiruzen was like losing a grandfather figure, the man Naruto had trusted implicitly since he could remember. A part of Naruto was boiling with rage at whoever did this. He didn't get to see how the Third died. He didn't even get to see his body. He just woke up in the hospital and was told by Kakashi-sensei that the old man was dead. Naruto had demanded to know everything and learned as much as he could from people who saw the fight. The name Orochimaru came up over and over again during those tales, and over and over again Naruto repeated that name before he went to sleep. In his dreams, he killed this Orochimaru over and over until he was satisfied that the rage was edged so deep into his mind that he would never forget it.

When he and Orochimaru met, he would make sure to kill him for real.

/***/

Sasuke was surprised when Naruto was called to the front.

As the only member of the Uchiha, he was reserved a spot on the second row next to the Hyuuga, a remnant of the Uchiha's past glory. It made his stomach churned with the rage he had for Itachi, the man who single-handedly destroyed everything of the Uchiha clan. The man who tried to destroy him.

Sasuke had spent the past five years making sure it didn't work. He grieved and raged until nothing but the simmering hate burnt under the surface, but he made sure he thrive. Sasuke was going to kill Itachi, was going to tear him limb by limb for everything he did. There won't be a funeral like this for Itachi because Sasuke was going to burn him until nothing was left of the man that was his brother.

Yet, a small part of Sasuke's mind also asked if there would be any funeral like this for himself.

To be honest, he hadn't thought about it. He had never thought pass the part of killing Itachi and burning his body. He realized during the precession that maybe he wasn't able to undo Itachi's work after all, that maybe his brother, while he did not kill him, still won in the end. To say Sasuke was angry would be a little of an understatement. He was going to kill Itachi, but he also didn't want Itachi be the last thing people remembered about the Uchiha. He wanted to rebuild his clan to its former glory, and to do so he needed to rebuild himself first.

He looked up at the Hokage's monument and for the first time in many years he could see somewhat of his own future. It wasn't clear yet. It was more or less just a statement, but for the first time Sasuke thought he might really be getting onto something.

He wanted to be Hokage.

/***/

Sakura, being in the fifth row, didn't get to see much of the precession.

She was surprised if not a little disappointed that both of her teammates got to stand in the first two rows. She felt bad for making this funeral about her when it wasn't, but she couldn't help feeling a little pang of sadness and frustration. It was always like this. Naruto and Sasuke-kun would always be in front, chasing after each other, while she was in the back, always protected but also occasionally forgotten.

She wondered if this was how Naruto felt back when he really was the last in everything. Despite Sasuke-kun's insistence on calling Naruto dead-last, Naruto had in fact become one of the most powerful genin in Konoha. Sakura had watched him fight, had feared his raw and savage power. At the same time, she noticed that Naruto's attitude towards her had also changed. Once flirting shamelessly with her, he had become tentative. He had always protected her and asked after her well-being even when he was injured. Sasuke-kun was also doing the same thing but in his slightly condescending way. They were hovering over every little thing she did and it was beginning to frustrate her.

Sakura still loved them both, of course. They were her teammates, but she knew she needed to do something soon or she would blow up right in their faces, and the consequence wouldn't be pretty.

As if the heaven grieved with Konoha, the rain that came with the funeral stopped when it ended. Team Seven parted way at the end of the precession only to reconvene without any prior agreement on the same training ground.

Sakura stared at her teammates who arrived separately from two directions almost at the same time and scowled at them. "Shouldn't you two be resting?" she asked, remembering that to be the doctor's order.

Sasuke-kun lifted an eyebrow. "The same could be said about you, Sakura," he said. Sakura blushed slightly from embarrassment. The doctor did tell her that. She was, after all, slammed into a tree, but aside from a concussion there wasn't anything that went wrong with her. She didn't even get to use her chakra.

"It was just a scratch," she said defensively; "I am not the one who dangerously exhaust my chakra reserve." The Sakura of a year ago would be absolutely horrified of what she just said to Sasuke-kun. The Sakura of the now was slightly pleased when Sasuke-kun's expression turned a little darker and tinted with embarrassment.

"I didn't exhaust it to the point of passing out," said Sasuke-kun. Naruto shot him a dirty look but otherwise didn't look or say anything to either one of them.

She guessed they embarrassed each other enough when Naruto redirected their line of discussion. "Why are you here, Sakura-chan? I thought your parents wouldn't let you out of the house after that."

Sakura shrugged and smiled. "I told them that the only reason I was hurt is because I wasn't strong enough to protect myself. So if I train more, I'll be safe," she said. It wasn't easy to convince them. In fact, they weren't really convinced at all. Her mother was quite infuriated with her, but she excused herself to prepare for the funeral so there wasn't yet an argument. She had wanted to let them in slowly to the danger of a shinobi's life, but she understood now that that would be impossible. "What about you, Naruto? Why are you here?" she asked.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and bit his lips. "Well, I had a lot of trouble fighting Gaara, so I thought I should train a bit more. My body is already healed anyway," he replied.

Sakura noticed Sasuke-kun glaring at Naruto when he said he had trouble fighting Gaara like that assessment personally offended him. If Naruto was the one who beat Gaara, she could understand Sasuke-kun's pride being severely hurt. That would also explain why he showed up to the training ground as well.

"Well," she said, "let's train together then." Then she got an idea. "How about the three of us fight each other until there's only one standing?"

The boys looked at her like she went nuts. "Sakura, Naruto would beat us both on that. You know he's a freak in terms of stamina," Sasuke-kun said. Naruto sent him another dirty look for that comment.

Sakura allowed her evil grin to show. "Who said we couldn't knock each other out," she replied. Naruto looked like he wanted to object, but she didn't let him. She went into a combat stance. "Come on."

To her surprise, it was Sasuke-kun who went into combat stance first. "Let's make this session about taijutsu then. No ninjutsu. No genjutsu," he said.

She was a little insulted, but she knew it was a legitimate concern. Naruto and Sasuke-kun were monsters in term of the chakra reserve and ninjutsu techniques. She wouldn't last long against them. But that also meant she needed to get better on both counts. "Fine," she replied; "Let's do this."

That was how they began the training that looked conspicuously like a brawl. Both Naruto and Sasuke weren't prepare for Sakura to went all out against them. She wasn't thinking in terms of taijutsu or training at all. She was remembering the time during the Chuunin Exam that her instinct to survive was so strong that she did everything she could think of. She threw Naruto to the ground and jumped on him, bit him, punched him. At first, Naruto seemed to just lie there and cover his face until she screamed at him to fight back. Then it was Sasuke that charged her, almost taking her out, but she leaped back and out of the way just in time before charging at him. They fell to the ground. She pulled his hair. He punched her stomach. She kneed his groin, hard, before leaping back at Naruto who was more prepared for her savage way of fighting this time.

At the end of it, the three of them were lying on the ground panting. They didn't know who was the last one standing anymore because they spent the their last fifteen minutes rolling on the ground, kicking, punching, biting, elbowing, strangling, until they were all black and blue and red from long painful scratch marks. The entire fight was graceless, unbecoming of shinobi, but Sakura didn't care. It was cathartic, like she was finally released. Her body ached, but she felt good. No wonder Naruto and Sasuke-kun went at it at each other all the time.

It was Naruto who got up first. "I'm hungry," he said. "Let's get ramen."

"No damn way," replied Sasuke-kun as he got up, too. "I'm not going to eat a entire bowl of carb."

Naruto turned to him and pouted. He was about to say something when Sakura shot up. "I know," she said, "let's get hotpot."

/***/

As it turned out, getting hotpot in Sakura's definition was getting the ingredients for the hotpot and making it at home.

And by home, Sasuke meant his apartment.

Sakura didn't want to go home early; that much was obvious. Sasuke didn't ask why. He suspected it had something to do with the argument with her parents about being a kunoichi which was something he had never thought about. Being born and raised in a shinobi clan, Sasuke had never thought twice about getting a hit. It was what he had expected since he was five. He had never thought what it would be like for doting parents to have to watch their children getting injured time after time. He wondered briefly if his parents would have been just as concerned about him, but he quickly stopped that line of thought. Thinking about them hurt too much.

Sasuke also didn't ask what was going on that suddenly Sakura turned from a regular kunoichi into a street fighter. How they fought had nothing to do with taijutsu. It was raw and strangely honest. It was like him fighting Naruto only that this time it wasn't fuel by anger. He was terrified by how utterly freeing it felt.

Since he probably had Sakura to thank for this, Sasuke agreed to them making the hotpot at his place without much fuss, which surprised both his teammates. They went shopping at a grocery store near his place with the determination to get good food despite Naruto's protest that ramen was good food. He tried to use the fact that the mocktails Sakura insisted on buying weren't good food either. The blond boy lost in a stare down.

It took an hour or so for the three of them to prepare the meal together, mostly because they didn't know the way around the kitchen or each other. Sasuke had never really use the kitchen so extensively before let alone having someone else using it. He was just standing back in the beginning, waiting for something to blow up, but nothing did. Sakura seemed to at least know her way around the stove enough to boil water and drop in the soup pack. Naruto was tasked with chopping vegetables, which he didn't know how to do despite his familiarity with sharp objects. Sasuke had to show him and they ended up slicing the meat together while Sakura prepared the dipping and occasionally cooing over Sasuke apparently existing cooking skill.

They spent another two hours chatting and eating the hotpot, by that time it was evening. They cleaned up and cooled down in the living room afterwards. That was when Sakura opened the mocktails and passed them around.

"This smells weird," Naruto said as he sipped his. Sasuke agreed. It was a combination of so many smells that by the standard of thirteen-year-old Sasuke should not be mixed together.

"It supposed to smell like the real thing," Sakura said before sipping some more. "Being adults must be boring."

Sasuke couldn't agree more. He had wanted to ask why Sakura wanted to try something that was supposedly for adults all of the sudden, but the conversation got stirred away from the mocktails to something rather stupid by none other than Naruto. Sasuke sighed. He wasn't in the mood of interrupting Naruto who was in a better mood than they had seen him in a while. Like always, Sasuke didn't say much in the conversation. It was mostly Sakura and Naruto but they always tried to include him. When he first was assigned to Team Seven, he had found this annoying, but right then he didn't mind, not with the easy air they had around each other.

He didn't noticed that something was wrong with Naruto until an hour later when the blond boy finally finished his can of mocktail. He had become increasingly quiet and Sasuke was filling in more and more of the conversation. When Naruto didn't add his two-cent for more than five minutes they just have to check if he was all right. By then his face was slightly flushed and his eyes drooped like he was about to fall asleep.

"Hey, are you tired?" Sakura asked. "Maybe we should head back."

"Yeah," Naruto said. He tried to get up but then suddenly had to sat down. "Shit," he muttered; "I'm dizzy."

Sasuke was a little alarmed. After all, Naruto was fine before. Sasuke wondered it was because of his injuries. "Geez, Dead-last. You shouldn't have pushed yourself earlier."

Naruto growled at him, "Shut up, Uchiha."

Sasuke was about to retorted when his eyes went to the can Naruto had been drinking and spotted something on the label they didn't see before. "Sakura," he said, "I don't think this one is a mocktail."

Sakura looked surprised. She quickly grabbed the can and read it. "What?" she basically shrieked. "How come they let us buy this?"

Sasuke didn't know either. "He probably thought you picked a lot of the same thing. I don't think he had a good look at it," he said, knowing that Sakura didn't either. She was just picking up one after another assuming they were the same kind of mocktail. They were too hungry to care at that point.

"What? You're saying I'm drunk?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded. Naruto cussed and Sakura lifted an eyebrow at him.

"I don't think he should be alone like this," she said and gave Sasuke a meaningful look. The Uchiha sighed but nodded.

"I'm okay. I just need to sit this dizziness out a little and I'll be able to get home just fine," protested Naruto. "This isn't bad at all. I don't even slur."

"Of course, you don't, moron. There isn't enough alcohol to impair you that much," said Sasuke; "As much of a pain as you are, you're staying."

Naruto was about to get up and picked a fight with him when Sakura dragged him down again. "Naruto, this is for your own good. My parents said that if you never drink before, it's better if there's someone with you in case you become sick."

Naruto looked torn, like he wanted to argue, but Sakura's silent pleading kept him quiet. He glanced at Sasuke like he was asking for help, but Sasuke stood firm. Eventually, Naruto looked to the floor and nodded.

Sakura gave him a blinding smile. "Great. Now be a good boy, okay?" she said and patted his head.

Naruto glanced at her and pouted. "I'm not a dog or something, you know," he muttered.

"No, you aren't. You're just being a kid," said Sasuke. Naruto shot him a dirty look, even slightly angry, but Sasuke wasn't fazed.

Sakura looked at them, sighed, and got up. "Okay, I'm heading out. Try not to kill each other, all right?" She looked between them before her eyes settled on Sasuke. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She said with a small smile before leaving. There was a strange expression on her face that Sasuke couldn't quite pinpoint. She seemed lively the entire time, but there were moments when she seemed pensive, like that moment before she closed the door.

But when the door shut close, Sasuke was left with a problem of his own, namely Uzumaki Naruto.

Drunk or not, Sasuke honestly didn't know what to do with Naruto. They hadn't really talked since they fought before the third round of the Chuunin Exam. It wasn't that he intentionally avoided Naruto. It was just one thing happened after another so their conversation never happened. And Sasuke didn't know if Naruto wanted to talk knowing how private the blond boy actually was with his thoughts.

The only comfort he had was that Naruto was just as awkward about this as Sasuke. He tried to keep busy, as if the blond boy was avoiding having to face him. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of thing to keep busy aside from reading the label of the can that was actually a cocktail.

Sasuke walked over, contemplating with his every step what to say before he reached the boy. He settled with a question. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

Naruto seemed to contemplate for a moment before saying, "I need to lie down."

Sasuke knew then that Naruto probably felt worse than he had let on. He wanted to call Naruto out on that but held his tongue. There was nothing good in berating the blond boy when he was like this. It wasn't Naruto's fault that he got himself drunk, so he said, "I'll get you a blanket and a pillow. Go lie down on the couch."

Naruto was surprised, but he wisely just nodded and got up. Sasuke watched him until he was sure that Naruto wasn't going to topple over before heading for his bedroom. While he was there, he got Naruto a set of clothes to change into and a towel. They were all dirty from their 'training' so he should at least make sure that Naruto get to shower.

When Sasuke came back, Naruto was already curling on his side on the couch with his eyes closed. He looked strangely vulnerable like that engulfed by the large couch and throw pillows. Sasuke was too tired to get angry at the blond boy for soiling his furniture, so he just put the stack of clothes down and quietly said, "Hey, are you asleep?"

Naruto's eyes flew open. His body stretched out a little. "I'm awake. You don't have to whisper," he said. His eyes went to the stack and clearly noticed Sasuke's clothes over the pillow. Confusion crossed his face.

"Do you think you can shower?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know," Naruto replied. He seemed genuinely uncertain, so Sasuke placed a hand on his shoulder for him to lie back down.

"I'll get you wet towel," Sasuke said before heading back to the bedroom. He was running the water when it struck him that he didn't have to do this. He could just clean the couch later if it bother him so much and Naruto seemed pretty content just sleeping it off. It was Sasuke that offered the blanket, the pillow, the change of clothes, and even a wet towel. The sight of Naruto curled up on his couched, dirty and small, seemed to implore Sasuke to do something, anything.

He just turned off the tab and went back to Naruto. The blond boy was on his back with his eyes closed. Sasuke sat down on next to him, took off Naruto's head band, and rubbed the towel on his face. "Hey!" Naruto protested, but Sasuke just kept on rubbing until the dirt on his face was gone. "What was that for, bastard?" Naruto asked, looking rather annoyed.

"You're dirty," said Sasuke. He finished up Naruto's face before unzipping his jacket, but Naruto pushed him away hard enough that Sasuke fell onto the floor. When Sasuke looked up, Naruto had his back in the corner, his legs drawn up to his chest.

"What the-" the blond boy said. Then he suddenly pointed at Sasuke and shouted, "Molester!"

Sasuke got up and sighed. "Dope-"

"Pervert!"

"-you have sex appeal of an orangutan-"

"I knew it, you kinky bastard! Normal people doesn't do it for you!"

Sasuke groaned. "Sakura wiped you down when you were out during the Chuunin Exam. What's wrong with ME doing it!?" he shouted back.

Naruto's eyes went impossibly wide at that. "Sakura what?" he asked in the most horrified tone Sasuke had ever heard.

"After you got the seal, you were unconscious with a rather high fever. She had to wipe you with cold water to keep it down," Sasuke explained. He thought Naruto would have been delighted that Sakura had actually taken care of him, but he turned as white as a sheet like he was about to faint. Sasuke sat back down on the couch immediately. His hand went for Naruto's ankle. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly. Naruto looked like he might be spooked otherwise.

"Did... did you guys see anything weird on my body?" Naruto asked. Although the muscles on his face barely shifted, Naruto's eyes were filled with terror.

Of what? Sasuke didn't know. "Aside from that seal on your neck, nothing," he replied. Come to think about it, it was odd considering that Jiraiya and Kakashi seemed aware of another seal on Naruto, the one for his extra chakra reserve. Sasuke wanted to asked if Naruto knew about it but remembered Kakashi's threat all too well. Talking about that seal would be off-limit, which was frustrating since he would need to go about it the round about way if he wanted to know anything. And Sasuke didn't know how to do it.

Naruto seemed to breathe a little easier, although the frown still edged on his face. Sasuke concluded that whatever it was about, Naruto was in distress about it. He would have to let Naruto be the one to tell him.

"Let me clean you up a little so you can change and go to sleep," he suggested.

Naruto looked back at him. One moment he looked defiant, like he wanted to punch Sasuke just to prove that he didn't need someone to babysit him. On any other circumstances, Sasuke suspected that it would have happened. But this time, to his surprise, that mask crumbled and in its place was a scared little child. "Why are you doing this?" Naruto asked. It sounded like he wanted to shout but didn't have the strength to really do it. "First you nagged me and being all weird, then you hovered and protected me like I'm some incompetent idiot, and then... then you coddle me like this. What's going on here, bastard?"

Sasuke blinked. He honestly hadn't thought about what he did. There wasn't a grand plan of any kind behind his gestures. He knew it wasn't pity that made him react to Naruto whenever the blond boy was in distress. Sympathy maybe. Sasuke, after all, understood what it was like to have no one to lean on. He often went back to his childhood memory of his mother to get through tough times. Naruto didn't have even a memory to go back for a time like this when the last person who was anywhere close to being a family to him just passed away.

"I know you're all alone," Sasuke began. He didn't know if it was the right thing to say, but he just knew he had to let Naruto knew that he understood that part at least. "I've been like that since my parents were killed. All my extended family died on that day. Nothing rattles like the realization that nobody really cares."

Naruto's eyes were widened then his brows furrowed. Sasuke didn't know what that meant. He might just want Sasuke to stop talking.

"But I'm not alone anymore. I have you and Sakura, and sometimes Kakashi," as much as Sasuke hated to admit the last part; "I just want you to know that you have us now, but I really don't know how to make you believe me."

Sasuke had a brief moment to wonder if there was something in his drink that made him say that before Naruto spoke in an uncharacteristically small voice, "We always fight."

He blinked. "So?"

Naruto groaned. "People who like each other don't fight like that," he said.

"Brothers fight," Sasuke said. Although, it wasn't really his experience, he had seen many siblings who despite always having each other's back never got along very well.

Naruto huffed. "Well, sorry if I don't know anything about that," Naruto said. The tone of self deprecation didn't really sit well with Sasuke and he lifted his hand to Naruto's head. At first, the blond boy flinched back like he expected Sasuke to hit him. When Sasuke brushed back his hair, Naruto looked completely lost.

"To be honest, I don't know either," he admitted. Itachi was more absent than not, and the Itachi Sasuke used to idealize was only a mask that concealed the murderer within. After the massacre, he doubted every moment he shared with Itachi. He doubted every affectionate gesture Itachi ever shown towards him.

He suspected that that was pretty much what Naruto was going through but backward. Naruto never received such a gesture so he doubted whether it really meant what people claim it to be when it was done towards him. "I'm not a child, you know," Naruto protested feebly and looked away, but he didn't pull away from Sasuke's hand. Sasuke counted that as victory.

"So?" Sasuke asked again.

"You like to treat me like one," Naruto replied with a half-hearted glare that made Sasuke wanted to smile.

He let himself smirk instead. "Are you pouting, Dead-last?"

Naruto's eyes widened at that. "What the- No, bastard!" he exclaimed and swatted away Sasuke's hand. "Geez, for a moment I thought you were nice and all."

Although they were bickering like before, the animosity that used to underlie their interactions seemed to have disappeared. Even though, Naruto's face wasn't plastered with his trademark shit-eating grin, there was the softening around the eyes that made Sasuke's heart beat a little faster. He realized then that this was actually how Naruto looked like when he was happy, and knowing that he made him happy made Sasuke felt like the King of the World.

"If you can't even clean up before bed, I have no choice but to treat you like one, Dope," Sasuke said.

He was barely able to hide his mirth when Naruto huffed, took off his jacket, and threw it over the back of the couch with a shout, "Fine! Let's get this over with!"

/***/

End of Chapter 13

**A/N:** Down, naughty thoughts. Down.

And here I rest my case for why alcohol shouldn't be sold in supermarkets (like one country I know allows), but somehow I feel like it's a failed argument. :P

** Reign of Sorrow** Well, I don't know if they'll make a good couple per se, but that does not preclude us enjoying this, does it? Personally, I've always liked Vegeta more than Goku despite his bad beginning. I think there's this association in people's mind between honesty and naivety (or in some case down-right stupidity) that is convenient to play into but total unfounded. And a lot of shonen mangaka not just Toriyama and Kishimoto plays into that, or into the opposite of that (like in Death Note). I'm okay with that to a degree, but I prefer something more complex than the naïve=good and smart=bad dichotomy. And, yeah, Naruto is stupid in the canon. I had hoped at one point that one of his development would be his intelligence because it could have gone that way at one point, but then it was gone in a puff.

** semexx** Woah! You're a really picking it apart, sir. Okay, so here's some of my take on the issues you brought up. This is going to be a long one and just my reason for the choices I made which doesn't anyway mean I think the chapter is flawless. Here we go.

In the first chapter, I don't think Naruto have much access to Kyuubi's chakra yet, so he's not going to be good to go in a day. I don't really know how fast a hand broken from repeated punching would heal, so I based the estimate on a minor soft-tissue injury I got on my wrist 3-4 years ago which took a month to control the pain and over a year with some rehabilitation for it to stop aching. (And it still can. An injury like this stays with you. There's no complete healing.) My guess is Naruto's injury, which is way worse than mine, is going to take at least a few months to heal for a normal person and a few weeks at his accelerated rate.

I think the change to Naruto after Iruka's death is in both behaviors and world view, but how that would play out really depends on how you interpret Naruto's character. For me, Naruto is interesting because he simultaneously holds so much in and lets so much out, so I tried to convey that dichotomy with him trying to appear the same while having emotional outbursts (succeeding or not is another story altogether). You have to remember that Naruto and Sasuke are very different people. Their coping mechanisms are different. They wouldn't react the same way to the same kind of loss. Also another thing I would like to urge you to keep in mind is the POV I'm using. _Everyone_ is an unreliable narrator in one way or the other (because they're people like us; we are all biased). So if you got the feeling that Kakashi focused too much on Naruto when they were introduced, was that it or was it Naruto not wanting Kakashi to scrutinize him? He might be observing all of them equally as far as I'm concerned.

I disagree with you that Sasuke knew at that point what being a ninja really means. Actually, none of the kids could possibly know. They haven't even experience an actual mission, yet. The first for them is the Wave Country mission. Naruto is a little ahead in that he was actually in a middle of a conflict between two parties over a commodity that ended up with one side dead which is sort of trial-run of how a deadly mission can be like, although I don't think he fully internalize it. Sasuke might have been through a very tragic circumstance, but he didn't experience the conflict, just the aftermath. After that he was obsessed with getting his revenge, which would probably give him a severe tunnel vision. He would understand shinobi in terms of the skill required, but not the bigger picture that Naruto has a small glimpse of. (Actually, in the canon Sasuke comes to understand the bigger picture long after Itachi is dead.) He has more capability to understand it, though, _if_ he could get out of his own little world and look around for a change.

As for the conflicting displays, I have one word for you: overcompensation. I find that people, especially adolescent males but not only or always, do it when they are insecure or unsure of themselves. (I also have my pet theory that it's connected to bullying, but I digress.) True superiority is not in flaunting superiority, but in how one controls a situation. That being said, you've raised a really good point about human behavior: we are never straightforward in showing who we are or how we feel, and we contradict ourselves on a regular basis. I actually didn't notice that I made Naruto smirk that much, though. Really?

** ZyiareHellsing** Short answer is Kyuubi doesn't have full access or control over Naruto's chakra system. Long answer is the Kyuubi's chakra is connect to Naruto's but he's not really a part of it. Naruto has to grant him full access to the pathways (i.e., let Kyuubi take over) to do that, and even then there is still a bottleneck in the connection between Naruto and Kyuubi so the amount of chakra flowing between them is limited. So, no, no purging...yet.

** SupernaturalHearts **I hope I don't frustrate you too much. I simply go with what's relevant to the POV I am using. And good to hear that it's not too predictable. I've thought that maybe my summary gives away too much of where this is going and it might turn out to be too obvious. So glad it's not.

** kamui5** Thank you for letting me know it's not boring. I'm still trying to figure out what makes a story boring and what not and how to pace it, so comments like this are really helpful. I hope you got the sweetness you've wanted in this chapter because, yeah, shit is about to hit the fan.

** wierdsquirrelgirl** My thought about Orochimaru precisely! *High Five* Yes, there will be manipulations and Leaf being in a hissy fit, although I sort of regret now that there won't be a lot of scenes between Orochimaru and Naruto because I do love manipulations. (To be fair, there wasn't a lot in between Orochimaru and Sasuke in the canon, either.)

** nekomode** Wow, really acute observation. I wasn't really thinking about the canon characters when I was writing this because I have to try to stay in my version of the characters, but, yeah, the divergence is clear now, isn't it? My impression about Sasuke in the canon at that point is that he is at a pivoting point. He acknowledges that his teammates are important to him, but he is still too stuck up about it (and, yes, really jealous of Naruto). He could have gone anyway at that stage, I think, but then Itachi happens and the rest is history.

Also, "I have to say that your version hit me harder on the emotional level than the original did." - Mission accomplished!

And, yes, Itachi's coming.


	14. Chapter 14: Past in Present

**A/N: **Itachi has arrived and Kakashi is this story's bearer of bad news. Warning for violence... and gore? There are a lot of blood, but that's about it.

Also, I really can't figure out how to write fight scenes with giant monsters, I mean summons, so that got changed again. If anyone was expecting that, sorry, not happening.

**Chapter 14: Past in Present**

Due to the casualties during the Sand and Sound invasion, Konoha had never been busier. It was also better for all of them. With the entire village in such shock, sorrow, and confusion, the clockwork of daily life kept everyone focused and reminded them that at least they were out of the crisis now.

...Or so Kakashi had hoped.

His brief meetings now and then with Jiraiya didn't result in a good outlook. Jiraiya had been tracking Akatsuki, a small group of highly dangerous rogue nins, for a while now, and recently they have been moving more than usual. Apparently they were targeting Jinchuuriki across the continent. That meant Naruto staying in the village would be dangerous for everyone including the boy himself, so Jiraiya was going to take him on trips. At least if he kept moving, it would be harder for Akatsuki to find him.

That would also mean breaking up Team Seven at least temporarily. Kakashi wasn't looking forward to telling this to the rest of his team, especially Sasuke, especially now that everything was going swimmingly. His little project of getting Sasuke and Naruto to help each other seemed to have taken a turn for the better without his involvement. It wasn't anything obvious in how they interacted. Sasuke and Naruto still fought and bickered, but somehow it was more cordial now. It might have something to do with his kids developing a habit of taking it out at each other on the training ground when the tension was too high. The fight wasn't pretty, but it seemed to keep the arguments during missions at an all-time low, so Kakashi didn't see fit to intervene.

There were also small gestures during their missions like Sasuke bringing small candy bags with him even though he wasn't partial to candy and even hand-fed Naruto and Sakura once when his teammates were too busy and dirty to get the candy themselves. Kakashi tried to get Sasuke to feed him too but got the bag of candy shoved in his face. The love wasn't extended to their teacher, apparently.

Some of the gesture seemed to happen in a more private setting like that was one time when he intentionally hid himself during breaks on missions (not to read Icha Icha Paradise or anything) and spotted the two boys taking a nap. They were resting under a tree with Naruto's head on Sasuke's shoulder and Sasuke's head on the mop of blond. Kakashi was quite shocked by the display knowing Sasuke wouldn't be caught dead being that vulnerable around Kakashi. He was even more shocked when Sakura came to wake them up, complaining about them slacking off, and Sasuke didn't even defend himself when Naruto told Sakura that it was Sasuke's idea.

If Kakashi could have his way, he would keep his team like this. But when Jiraiya gave him a clear signal that he would be leaving with Naruto, Kakashi had no other choices but to accept that this little happiness couldn't last. He intended on telling Sakura and Sasuke at their usual meeting place before they started their mission that day. But, again, nothing went as he planned.

/***/

Kakashi not showing up on time didn't worry Sasuke too much, but when two hours in and Naruto had yet to arrive, Sasuke couldn't help feeling uneasy. Sakura seemed to be in the same state. She started out chatting with him like usual, but after an hour of Naruto not showing up, she became quiet. At two hours, she turned to him and said, "Something's wrong." Sasuke couldn't agree more.

The situation seemed even grimmer when they arrived at Naruto's place and no one was there. Things got even worse when they got to Kakashi's and found a whole herd of jounin there with Kakashi unconscious on his bed with no obvious sign of injury. Might Guy tried to brush it off but one of the noisy newcomer spit it out.

Itachi was in the village, and he was after Naruto.

Sasuke's legs brought him out of the room before he could even hear Guy's reply. All he could think of was that Naruto was in danger and he had also disappeared. He tried to think of anywhere that Naruto might have been, someone who might recognize him and the people that might be with him at the time.

He only realized that someone else was following him when he stopped at Ichiraku and the footsteps didn't. Sakura appeared right beside him just a few second later just as Sasuke was asking the old man at Ichiraku about Naruto. When he mentioned Jiraiya, Sasuke was relieved but only marginally. They might not know about Itachi, and even if they knew, what were they going to do about a highly trained Sharingan user.

Sasuke didn't want to think about it. So he just ran to the town the old man said the two were heading. They were traveling by foot for only a couple of hours. There was still enough time to catch up with them. That was, if Itachi didn't catch up with them first.

That very thought sent Sasuke's heart right into his stomach. He couldn't let that happen. He didn't know what Itachi wanted. He didn't need to know. He just needed to make sure that Naruto was safe and Itachi was gone.

It took him a long time before he realized that Sakura was still following him. Even at that speed, she seemed to be able to keep up, so Sasuke didn't slow down. He didn't know if he could even if he tried.

They arrived in town after an hour of intense running. He could tell that Sakura's legs were about to give out, but she stubbornly stood beside him. "I'll look on the right. You look on the left," he told her and she nodded. They didn't need to talk more than that because Sakura heard everything thus far. She might not know who Itachi was, but the urgency of the situation seemed cleared enough to her. They spend a good twenty minutes looking through the street asking for a blond hair boy accompanying a white hair man but got only false leads. With every minute that passed Sasuke became more agitated. With every minute, Itachi was closer to finding Naruto.

When Sasuke opened his eyes again, they were red.

/***/

Naruto knew he was in trouble the moment he stared into a pair of Sharingan. There wasn't an intention to kill or anything. It was just stillness - cold, dead stillness - that chilled him to the bones. The man, dressed in dark attire and traveling gears, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the room.

"Should we cut off his legs?" asked the taller man dressed in similar attire with a giant sword on his back. Naruto swallowed and tried to think of a way out. He couldn't beat them; that much was clear. Running away wouldn't be an option either. He wasn't clear on what they wanted, but since they knew about the Nine-tail, they might want that, not that Naruto could use it as a bargain.

In essence, unless that perverted sennin decided to show up any time soon, Naruto was really screwed.

He was just about to negotiate to at least keep his legs when he suddenly felt an overwhelming killing intent. His eyes looked past the two people in front of him and saw Sasuke standing with Sharingan blaring.

"Uchiha Itachi," he friend said slowly, each syllable heavy and pronounced, "I have come to kill you."

Naruto quickly looked back at the Sharingan user in front of him. He shouldn't be surprised that the man in front of him was a Uchiha given the Sharingan. But he remembered the rumor that all in the Uchiha clan but Sasuke was dead. Then who was this man? How come Sasuke wanted to kill him?

"He seemed familiar with you, Itachi-san. Who is he?" The tall man asked.

Itachi didn't as much as look behind him when he said, "He is my younger brother. We don't need to worry about him." Again, he took hold of Naruto's arm. "He's still too weak. Killing him now would not be satisfying."

Before Naruto could fully comprehend what that meant, electricity suddenly flew in the hallway. Naruto didn't need to look to know that Sasuke was using Chidori. He only had a glimpse of his friend charging through the hall before Itachi threw Naruto to his partner and turned around. He grabbed Sasuke's arm and slammed it into the nearest wall, creating a giant hole from sheer power of the jutsu.

But that also meant he had to turn his body half way from Naruto, an opening.

"Don't you even try it, kid," said the guy behind him. His giant sword rested against Naruto's calf. Naruto cursed himself for forgetting about the psycho. "One move and I'll cut your legs off."

"Knock him out, Kisame," said Itachi. Naruto heard the sound of bones crushing and a scream from Sasuke as his friend fell to the ground. The next thing he heard was the ringing in his ears and the sound of blood pumping through his veins. He leaped forward, jumping to avoid Kisame's sword as he tried to rush pass Itachi to Sasuke. He might be faster than before, but not fast enough to beat the older Uchiha. Naruto felt the impact on his throat and on the back of his skull as Itachi slammed him against the wall. His vision went black for a second from the pain.

"Get your hands off him, Itachi!"

It was Sasuke. He knew that it was Sasuke, but Naruto's vision was starting to blur. Itachi's grip was so tight he couldn't breathe. He clawed at the older Uchiha's arm, but the man seemed unaffected. He was another league, another level of strength that Naruto couldn't even begin to grasp. He hated himself for being so weak.

Then there was a sound. He felt the impact on Itachi's arm before the hand left his throat. Naruto slumped to the ground trying to breathe and see what had happened. He spotted a head of pink hair.

"NO," Naruto tried to call out to her, to tell her to run, because Itachi knew no mercy and she would be dead and he wouldn't survive it. The choking had robbed him of most of his voice. It become hoarse and meek. Somewhere in the corner of his eyes, he saw Sasuke leaping into action with Sakura. She didn't last very long, neither did Sasuke with a broken arm. Itachi showed no mercy as he delivered hit after hit into his brother's body before slamming Sasuke to the wall like he did Naruto. Naruto couldn't see what happened next. He just heard Sasuke loud agonizing scream.

He got up with the last strength he had left and slammed himself against Itachi's side hard enough that he had to let go of Sasuke. He barely managed to grab Sasuke as he fell and probbed him against the wall. He then turned to Itachi, putting himself in between Sasuke and his attacker.

"How touching," came Kisame's voice as his footstep drew closer. Naruto pretty much knew that it was over. They were going to get killed.

That was when a toad showed up, blocking Kisame's sword from falling directly on them. The wall instantly became slimy flesh that made Naruto's skin crawled. Finally, he could breathe again knowing that Jiraiya had come. The rest of the fight wasn't much of a fight at all. Itachi and Kisame retreated, somehow managed to escape what Jiraiya said was inescapable, but Naruto didn't care at that moment. He turned to Sasuke, calling to him...

... but the only thing that greeted him was a pair of dead eyes.

"Sasuke," he whispered as he searched for pulses. He was alive. Itachi didn't kill Sasuke, but somehow he wasn't responding.

"Naruto," came a feminine sound from behind him. Naruto turned and there was Sakura, bruised but every much alive.

"Sakura-chan, are you badly hurt?" he asked. His voice was still hoarse.

Sakura just shook her head. "I'm fine," she said before scooting closer, her hand occasionally placed on her stomach. "What happened to Sasuke-kun?" she asked. Naruto shook his head. He didn't know what happened himself. He had never seen anything like this. The sight of unresponsive Sasuke troubled him greatly.

"That's the Tsukuyomi," said Jiraiya as he rounded the corner towards them. He didn't look pleased. "A high-level genjutsu of the Uchiha clan. Not all Sharingan users can do this." He paused, looked at Sasuke, and sighed. "It should have been released when Itachi lost eye-contact with him, but it seemed that whatever Itachi put him through also keeps him under."

Sakura looked like she was about to cry but shook her head and slapped her face twice. When it was done, she looked at determined as ever. Naruto wished he could feel the same way. "Then what are we going to do?" he asked. He hated how his voice cracked, but he couldn't help it. This was his teammate, goddamn it! What if Sasuke could never come to his senses ever again? What was he supposed to do?

Why was he so useless?

"Sasuke needs medical attention," said Jiraiya. "We'll call someone to bring him back to Konoha. In the mean time, we have to continue with the plan."

"Fuck the plan!" Naruto shouted the best he could. He could feel the pain in this throat, but he didn't care. "I'll take Sasuke back to Konoha, you can just go on your own!"

"And what are you going to do? Wait for him to wake up by miracle!?" Jiraiya shouted back. Naruto flinched and hated himself for it. "Tsunade, the person we're searching for, is a legendary medic. If anyone could guarantee Sasuke's full recovery, it would be her. So get your act together!"

Intellectually, Naruto knew Jiraiya was right, but his heart was telling him not to leave Sasuke, because Sasuke never left him, because Sasuke had become his friend and friends stood by each other when they got into trouble. He didn't want to disappoint Sasuke. He knew it was strange considering his history of causing disappointment, but he didn't want to repeat that, not this time.

It was Sakura's touch on his arm that brought him out of his own head. When he turned to her, she had a resolute smile on her face. She said, "I'll take care of Sasuke-kun. You go find this lady and bring her back to us, okay?"

Somehow, at that moment, Sakura-chan he knew seemed to have grown. She was more in control of her emotion and the situation than Naruto ever was. For a brief moment, he felt ashamed, but he knew that nothing would come out of it, so he straightened up and said, "All right, I'll be quick."

And he intended what he said. He wasn't going to disappoint her too.

/***/

When they headed out to find Tsunade-hime, Kabuto didn't really thought it was going to escalate into a fight.

She was one of the legendary sannin, that he knew. She was, by all standard, an accomplished kunoichi with a long list of work in both combat and medicine. But the tide and turbulence of the shinobi's life had gotten to her, so she shouldn't be anymore than an ordinary woman now.

That assessment was proven wrong to a devastating outcome. Tsunade-hime proved that once a kunoichi, always a kunoichi. She might have developed an anxiety disorder to blood. She might have a weak spot for her loved ones. She might be addicted to gambling and sake. But all the vices did not change the fact that she was a vicious fighter and one of the sannin. Those were just two parts of the same whole that was Senju Tsunade.

That or it was all Uzumaki Naruto's fault.

Kabuto couldn't have predicted that they would encounter the fox boy on this mission. Considering that Akatsuki was moving and the boy had Orochimaru's cursed seal on his neck, he would have thought the Leaf would put Naruto under locks and keys, not having him running around the countryside looking for the next Hokage.

Orochimaru was delighted to know that his new interest was on the scene with them. Kabuto had to reminded him that with Orochimaru's hands being out of commission and Jiraiya around, taking Naruto with them would be close to impossible. Orochimaru had chuckled, a rare thing since the functionality of his arms were taken by the Third, but didn't say anything otherwise.

Kabuto didn't know why Orochimaru had changed his plan from taking Uchiha Sasuke to Uzumaki Naruto instead. Circumstance might be one of them, but Orochimaru wasn't known to fall prey to circumstance. In all honesty, Naruto was a terrible ninja. His techniques were crude. His plans simple although reasonably affective. He clearly lacked the intelligence and the skills Orochimaru loved in his subjects. Naruto had only one thing, sheer power, and in Kabuto's humble opinion, that wasn't enough to get you anywhere.

He was, again, proven wrong. And Kabuto didn't like being proven wrong twice in a row.

The blood should have been enough to incapacitate Tsunade, allowing her capture, but Naruto rushed into battle, multiple shadow clones dispatched. Kabuto quickly grabbed Tsunade and tried to get back to Orochimaru, but not before a shout from the sky made him looked up. His face was nearly smashed by a bright blue fist coming down at him He managed to dodge but just barely. With Tsunade's dead weight and him losing blood, it was getting harder to move around.

"Naruto, you punk!" shouted Jiraiya. "You could have killed Tsunade!"

Kabuto wasn't sure what the white-hair sannin meant until he looked down and found a crater on the ground where the kid had landed. _That_ could get him a serious facial reconstruction. He was quite irritated that luck seemed to be on Naruto's side...

No, it wasn't luck. His aim was barely off. The clones made it so that Kabuto's retreating path was predictable and distracting him from the fact that Naruto had made the jump. Still, Naruto neglected the fact that Kabuto had enough space to dodge even slightly. He ignored the fact that Tsunade could have been seriously hurt in the process.

Like he said, crude.

Kabuto used blood to distract some of the clones and kicked them out of existence as he made his escape with the Princess, but Tsunade's assistant came in the way. She didn't dare use any of her advanced techniques because Tsunade was with him, but she and half a dozen Naruto was enough to make the retreat nearly impossible.

"Hand over Tsunade-sama," the women demanded. Shizune was it? Kabuto pulled the feeble sannin against him and placed a chakra scalpel beside her neck. Everyone stopped.

"I can hand over her body now, or I can hand her back later alive when she successfully healed Orochimaru-sama. Your choice," he said. Shizune looked torn. Her loyalty to Tsunade was getting in the way here.

It was Naruto who broke the silence. "That's not going to work on me," he said. His eyes determined.

"Your clones are not going to work on me either, Naruto-kun. I can sense them coming," he countered as he felt two clones approaching him from behind. "You can't use the same trick twice."

Naruto's eyes widened. He had been thrown off guard by the fact that Kabuto had seen that fight he had with the Mist ninja during the Chuunin Exam and remembered his tactic.

Kabuto continued, "You might have the power, Naruto-kun, but you have no talent or real skill to pull any of your big ideas off. Quite frankly, you're not worthy of being a shinobi at all." Naruto's hands clenched. His lips pulled back into a snarl. "I don't know what Orochimaru-sama saw in you that he decided to gift you with his seal," he added; "I should kill you now so you wouldn't be a bother to him later."

The name Orochimaru seemed to have triggered something. Naruto quickly glanced over to Jiraiya who had a perfect poker face still staring straight at Orochimaru. They were in a stalemate. The prize was the Princess but she was stuck in the middle and there was no clear way out of the situation without taking some severe hit.

Someone had to make a gamble.

It was Naruto that moved first. His hands flew in a familiar pattern. Kabuto was as surprised as anybody when the boy slapped his hand to the ground, creating the elaborate pattern of a summoning jutsu.

What appeared, though, was a plate-size toad.

"Dammit! You again!" he screamed in frustration. The shadow clone had caused him too much chakra that he couldn't bring forth anything larger than a baby toad.

"Oi, why do you have to always be so rude?" the toad protested.

They bickered on as Kabuto shifted his focus back to Shizune and Jiraiya. They probably decided to prolong the stalemate so that Jiraiya could get his chakra control back, that would mean he had to move fast. He could think of one tactic that just might work. "Tsunade-hime," he whispered into her ears as he pulled her back with him by the neck a fracture of a step, "please have a good look." He quickly pulled out a kunai and threw it at the toad.

The target that it hit was, of course, Uzumaki Naruto who moved into the way to protect the small creature. "You are quite noble, Naruto-kun," he said, "to take a poisoned kunai for a creature like that."

He heard gasped from all around. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Orochimaru smirking. Naruto gritted his teeth as he pulled the kunai out, blood gushing from his wound. The toad danced frantically beside him. Shizune looked torn, like she wanted to move from where she was but knew that the moment she fell back, Kabuto would take Tsunade for good.

"I should tell you that one side effect of the poison is that it prevents blood from clotting. He can bleed to death even with that wound," he added, urging Shizune to move to Naruto.

Jiraiya, while still standing his ground, was starting to waver. He could get to Naruto, but he wouldn't see when Orochimaru move.

So it was Naruto's life or Tsunade's, the prefect kind of gambling.

Suddenly, he felt the surge of chakra coming from Naruto's direction, a chakra so sinister and rotten that Kabuto was startled. "Don't," the boy growled out with a voice that was almost half-man half-beast, "underestimate me." He got on all four, crouching like an animal. His canine teeth looked almost like fangs and his nails like crawls. The toad was getting away from him in great haste as the patterns began to emerge on his skin. The cursed seal was activated.

And Orochimaru was delighted.

Before Kabuto could formulate what to do, Naruto rushed at him on all four at a speed that should have been impossible for that posture. He had no other choice but to pushed Tsunade to the side as he threw himself out of the way. In that instant, Shizune moved in to retrieved Tsunade and Jiraiya went for Orochimaru.

Kabuto tried to fall back, getting as close to Orochimaru as he could. They had to retreat. The power of the Nine-tail was not something they could handle with Ororchimaru's arm being as they were. But Naruto was fast. He gotten on Kabuto in seconds, straddling him to the ground. Kabuto took a few hits to his face, feeling his nose broken, before he could gather enough concentration to hit Naruto back with a chakra scalpel to the chest. He didn't have a good aim, but it should disrupt the muscles' working and injuring the lungs enough that Naruto wouldn't be able to breathe. Kabuto quickly rolled them over, pulled out his kunai and went for the heart.

But before the kunai could fall, a great hit send him flying off the boy until he hit a rock hard enough to black out for a few seconds. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Tsunade, surprisingly clean from the blood kneeling beside Naruto who was writhing, choking on his own blood. Tsunade quickly turned him to the side to let the blood flow out of his mouth and began healing him.

Kabuto blinked. Tsunade was healing a blood-drenched Naruto. That shouldn't be possible.

He had to stop her, but all he could do then was gathering his chakra and healing himself. There were many bones being fractured and internal organs bleeding too badly for any pill he had. But using that much chakra would also meant game over for him. He wouldn't have enough strength to fight Tsunade especially when blood no longer had any effect on her.

He looked over to see what was happening with Orochimaru. He honestly couldn't quite tell. The speed of the fight was incredible, but he could tell that Orochimaru was holding his own against Jiraiya. The problem would be when Tsunade finished healing Naruto and joined in the fight.

He had to warn Orochimaru about her.

He managed to heal himself enough that he could get up and walk. Shizune eyed him warily, standing in a fighting stance to guard her master as she performed her task.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to fight you right now," he said as he rested against the rock. "I'm simply retreating."

"For now, you mean," Shizune hissed at him.

Kabuto smiled. He turned to the direction of the inhuman battle and shouted, "Orochimaru-sama, we must retreat."

There wasn't a sign that the fighting was going to stop. Then suddenly there was a loud bang. Orochimaru appeared on the rock, panting considerably as he looked on to the newly made crater engulfing Jiraiya then to Tsunade and Shizune guarding Naruto's unconscious form. The look on the Princess's face was enough to tell them how utterly pissed at them she was.

"I guess there's no point of being here any longer," Orochimaru finally said. "We shall meet again, my friends." He said before dissolving into the sand. Kabuto gave them one last look and tried to stomp down his disappointment. He went through this much trouble and still couldn't heal Orochimaru's arms or kill the fox brat.

Well, there was always next time.

/***/

End of Chapter 14

**A/N:**

** AikahisakatuHogo-sha** *sniff, sniff* Yeah, there is a whiff there. I'm all for flexibility, though.

** TacitcalDubstep wildtrance** I know, right? ;)

** SithLordNilis** _You underestimate the power of the Dark Lord of Mordor, Sith. _(This reply is so nerdy, but I'm not even sorry. :D)

** SupernaturalHearts** Oh, good!

** ZyiareHellsing** Yay for the fluff. It's going to be the last one in a while, my friend.

** Alviniju** Bro, did we read the same psychology book? Coz, man, that's so spot on. I'm not a big fan of Kishimoto's villains because of the sap actually. The tragedies seriously does not define the person and yet it was his general explanation for why somebody turns bad. While it does work for Pain (because he was so thorough in setting Pain's background up), it really becomes redundant and watered down when used too many times (and by many times I mean more than once).

I really want to answer your speculations because, damn, that's really, really good. But it will come up in the story in due time, so hang in there.

** wierdsquirrelgirl** Roger!

** nekomode** Holy! *grab tissue and stuff it in the nose* Damn! Hokage Sasuke and ANBU captain Naruto getting it on would be super hot. Actually, Naruto and Sasuke getting it on in any setting is hot, but that is exceptionally hot. Kudos for the mental image!


	15. Chapter 15: Six Degrees of Separation

**A/N:** So, I'm going to be stuck with writing papers and such, so the editing is going to be terrible for a time (which sucks because we're about to reach an important part of the story T-T). I'm going to keep posting once a week anyway, because I'd really like to know what you guys think about these drafts, whether you think they're hitting the right emotional notes, and where the weak points are. I've tried to figure those out but my head is honestly not in the right place to do that at the moment and probably won't be for a few months yet. (This apply to any chapter, 14 especially.)

Warning for this chapter is the usual: violence, gore, and emotionally damaged people.

Replies to your comments/review, as always, are at the end of the chapter.

**Chapter 15: Six Degrees of Separation**

Sasuke's legs had gone numb as he sat and bore the long and quiet berating of his father in his deep baritone voice. His father never displayed strong emotions. Even when he was angry, he barely raised his voice, but Sasuke could always tell how upset he was, how disappointed, without even looking at the man. At a time like this, looking at his father was unbearable.

That was before the walls were paint with blood and the room smelt like rotten meat.

"You are a disgrace."

"I am sorry, Father," he said.

"You cannot even look at us as we are now."

"I've looked at you," he replied, his head kept low. He had looked and he didn't want to do it again. Through the bangs, he could see his parent's knees on the cushion. Their hands splayed unnaturally, fingers turned gray, and nails yellowed. They didn't look like human hands anymore.

"You can not look at us because you are weak," said his father, "because you are indecisive. You said you will avenge us, but what have you been doing, Sasuke? You are still nowhere close to Itachi."

"I am sorry."

"Sorry is the vernacular of the weak."

"..."

"Instead of honoring us by giving us the justice we deserve. You have been playing house with your teammates."

"I wasn't-"

"Silence, child. I have not yet finished."

"..."

"You have abandoned your family and the Uchiha name in pursuit of a feeble dream. I should have known since you have always have a feeble mind. You have always been taken by your emotions more than your resolution. Like now, you pursue that child in hope of a new bond instead of honoring ours."

"Father, I would never-"

"Then why did you pursue him?" his father asked sternly.

"...Because...because Kakashi told me to."

"Is your teacher more important than your father?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, he's not."

"Is your friend more important than your family?"

"No! Never!"

"You must choose, because the heart cannot be torn into two. You cannot love him _and_ us. It is him _or_ us."

"I will always choose you and mother," he replied. "How could you think I would betray you like Itachi did?"

"Is that so? Why did you not do so from the beginning?"

"I did. I've always lived to avenge you."

There was a pause. Sasuke did not dare look up. He was still afraid of looking up. "Although you have decided, your heart is still weak," his father said. "You must defeat that weak heart of yours, crush it to pieces. Show us you will never turn back again."

"Yes, Father, I will."

"I will believe you when that bond is severed, when we are the only thing you have."

"Yes, Father."

"Look at us when you say so."

After a long time, Sasuke looked up and stared right into the cold dead eyes of his father's and mother's corpses sitting on the cushions in front of him. Their heads tilted to the side like broken dolls, mouths hung open in silent scream. Sasuke's hands curled into tight fists as he willed himself to not look away, to stare in those eyes, clouded, yellowed, and dead, dead, dead...

"Yes, Father," he said.

/***/

She had waited nearly a month. It was so long that the moment Naruto told her that Tsunade was here, she had a hard time believing him. Then she was there. Around her hand was a green aura of her chakra as she placed it on Sasuke-kun's forehead. "He will wake up soon," Tsunade said. Sakura still couldn't quite believe her.

It was only when Sasuke-kun actually opened his eyes that reality hit her. He was all right now. Sasuke-kun was all right.

She hugged him out of sheer relief that she had him back. He didn't say anything, didn't push her away. She thought it was a good sign. She only noticed something off when she pulled back, babbling about how they had all missed him, and he didn't respond with anything. He just sat there and stared blankly at the far wall.

"I'll go get Naruto," she offered. The blond boy was there just moments ago. Sakura had no idea where he went.

At the mention of Naruto, Sasuke's eyes sharpened. He still didn't look at her, but she didn't like how his eyes were boring into the wall. "You do that," he said, but his voice was devoid of emotion. The usual Sasuke-kun wasn't even this cold.

Sakura's instinct then was to flee. Something was really wrong, and that was the first thing she told Naruto upon meeting him. Naruto looked concerned. They quickly went back to the room only to find Sasuke-kun standing by the bed, flexing his muscles.

"Idiot, you're recovering. What are you doing out of bed?" Naruto grabbed Sasuke-kun's by the arm but his hand was roughly pushed away.

"Fight me," Sasuke-kun said.

Confusion crossed Naruto's face. "Sasuke, your body is not-"

"Are you scared of me?"

Naruto scowled. "Of course not, bastard. I just don't want to beat a weakling who just got out of a hospital bed, that's all," he said.

Sasuke-kun motioned Naruto to follow him. Naruto did. Sakura felt like she should get someone to stop these two, but she didn't want to lose sight of them. She followed them up to the hospital's roof, trying to stop them both. Naruto looked sympathetically at her, but Sasuke-kun ignored her completely.

On the rooftop, Naruto finally spoke, "Right, can you tell me now what the hell is this about?"

Sasuke huffed. "I doubt you would be able to understand, Dead-last," he said.

Naruto grunted. Sakura could feel his temper flaring. "Try me," he said.

But Sasuke didn't say anything. He simply went into a fighting stance. Naruto was just as surprised as Sakura but he took the stance as well.

After that was a blur of movements Sasuke charged first followed by Naruto. They clashed, arms blocking fists, before Sasuke jumped back. He didn't wait long to go into his taijutsu movement that he used in the prelim of the tournament. Naruto took all the blows. He was no match to Sasuke's speed.

The last blow sent Naruto's body flying into the mashed fence. It was over, or so Sakura thought, but Sasuke didn't think so. He charged forward and jumped at the last second to deliver a finishing blow. In that instance, Naruto quickly went to a crouch and delivered a blow into Sasuke's torso sending him flying back across the floor.

"The hell..." was all Naruto could say before he bended over and started coughing out blood. Sakura wanted to run over to check on him, but Sasuke's movement made her stop. Sasuke was on his feet, but his slightly bended torso told her that the kick had done some damage.

She looked back and forth between them and just couldn't take it anymore. "Stop it, you two!," she said as she got between them. "What's wrong with you, Sasuke? Why are you doing this?"

Sasuke wasn't looking at her at all. His eyes were fixed on Naruto. "Get out of the way, Sakura, or I'll finish you off, too," he said.

She could see that he meant his threat, but she stood her ground. "This is not how we fight!" she shouted.

Sasuke's eyes snapped to her. "Of course, it is not. This is not a child-play you call training!" He shouted. "I have enough of the lot of you."

"What?" Naruto said. He had stopped coughing but Sakura doubted he could take another blow like that.

Sasuke's eyes, however, was still on Sakura. "Our training was just a joke," he said. "This whole team thing is just a joke."

"Sasuke-kun, don't say that!" she shouted back. "You know very well that shinobi need teamwork-"

"For what? Playing house like we did?" he chuckled. "You don't understand what it is to be strong. If you like to stay weak then fine, but I'm not going down with you!"

Sakura had quite enough of him. "You're impossible!" she screamed. "What kind of monster are you to hurt your best friend like that!?" She pointed to Naruto for good measure. He was on his feet now, but he looked like death. Sakura's hand clenched at the thought that he was like that because of Sasuke.

What she didn't expect was Sasuke's reply, "I told you he is just an assignment."

Sakura's blood froze. "Don't you dare say that! You care-"

"Because Kakashi told me to. Get it into your head, Sakura. I don't care about the two of you anymore than I care about the flies outside my window."

That was it. Sakura couldn't contain her anger anymore and she charged, but Sasuke was too fast. He had never used that speed against her before and she was mad that he didn't. He was the one playing around, not Sakura. He was the one that thought everything was a joke. Sakura jumped back quickly to get out of his reach, but Sasuke followed, his arm swung back and she knew she wouldn't be able to dodge the blow.

Then she was suddenly knocked out of the way. She landed quite gracelessly but was grateful that she could get away at all. She looked back and saw Naruto staggering back by the effect of the attack that was meant for her.

But Sasuke didn't stop there. He went after Naruto, this time with his ninjutsu at full force. Sakura struggled to get away from the blaze of his fire ball and looked back in horror as the flame engulf the entire area. Amid the fire she spot a bright blue light. Naruto, covered in burns, shot up from in the middle of the flame with a ball of chakra in his hand so dense that it was clearly visible. He was fast, but Sasuke was faster. He grabbed Naruto's outstretched arm and swung him to the side. Naruto lost his footing and slid on the floor. The blue blaze created a long crater where his hand slid.

Sasuke performed a series of signs and grabbed his elbow, and Sakura knew then that he meant it when he said he didn't care about them. He wouldn't use this jutsu if he did.

The sparkle of lightning flared. Sasuke swung his hand to the side and lunged for Naruto who got off the ground quickly, powered up another ball of chakra, and charged at his friend.

"NO," she shouted as she got up and tried to run towards them. "STOP IT!"

That was when Kakashi-sensei appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the arms of his students, and threw them into the water tanks. Sakura had to put her hands over her ears when the two crashed loudly into the metal, basically crushing half of each. Sasuke's hand were stuck in the middle of the wriggled metal, while Naruto's created a large circular dent.

"Why are you two fighting up here?" asked Kakashi-sensei in his bored tone. Sasuke just replied with a 'Tch' and pulled his hand out of the metal but was quickly tied to the tank by two sets of wires. Kakashi reappeared on top of the tank and looked rather displeased at him. "Did I not tell you that Chidori is not to be used against your comrades?" he said. "Were you planning on killing Naruto?"

Sasuke just let out another 'Tch' but otherwise didn't deny it. Sakura didn't believe him.

Kakashi-sensei was about to say something, but he spot Naruto getting up from where he was kneeling. Before anyone could say anything, he jumped up the top of the fence and disappeared down the other side.

"This is bothersome," muttered Kakashi-sensei before turning back to Sasuke still tied to where he last was. "I thought you two are good friends."

"He is not my friend," Sasuke replied, his voice cold. "I don't need friends."

That was when Kakashi-sensei leaped down from the tank and came to stand in front of him. "The only thing you get from lying to yourself is misery, Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura are your teammates. They are the closest thing you'll have to a family."

"Don't compare them to my family!" Sasuke replied through gritted teeth. "No one replaces them, especially not these puny wannabes."

Sakura's hand curled into a fist. She didn't know what got into him, and at that point she no longer cared. Sasuke had gone too far.

Kakashi-sensei, however, just sighed. He looked more exasperated than angry. "No, there is not a single person in our lives who can be replaced, Sasuke. No matter how long they've been gone, a little part of them will always remain within us. And no matter how much time has passed, we will always feel the pain of losing them." Kakashi-sensei paused and closed his eyes. His shoulders drooped slightly and Sakura knew this was something close to his heart. "But it will get better with time. It never goes away, but you will learn to live with it."

Sasuke-kun huffed. "Like _you_ would know."

"Indeed," Kakash-sensei replied; "I've lived through turbulent time, Sasuke. The people I loved have all been killed. None of my teammates survived the War."

Sakura's attention snapped to Kakashi-sensei. There wasn't an infliction in his voice that would have given him away. And he was smiling. Her heart broke a little.

"The point is life moves on. Even as we grieve, even as we rage, even as our world falls to pieces, it moves on. You can choose to seize it and be its master or you can choose to be its slave," Kakashi-sensei said. He released the wires. "I cannot make this decision for you, but I will stop you if your choice hurt the people that are important to me now. Do you understand?"

Sasuke didn't reply he just pressed his lips together tightly before jumping down and disappeared through the door without a single look back.

Kakashi-sensei sighed. He leaped and landed in front of her before asking, "Are you all right, Sakura?"

She nodded. "Just a few bruises," she said. She only realized then that her voice was trembling.

Kakashi-sensei patted her head gently as he said, "It will be all right. Meeting his brother probably stirs something nasty in him. He will understand what to do eventually. Have faith, Sakura."

She nodded, unable to articulate that answer for a moment. She was too mad and too concerned to actually say that, yes, she had faith in him. He was important to her, so no matter how complicated and infuriating he was, Sakura was going to stick by him, by them both. "Who are the important people to you now, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked as they made their way to the door.

At this the older ninja chuckled. "It's the three of you," he said before he opened the door for her.

/***/

The top of the Hokage Mountain was always quiet. The wind was strong enough that not many people came up here especially at sun down. It was usually the place Naruto came to hide when his foster parents hit him or humiliated him. He hadn't been here in a while, not since the Third set him up in an apartment of his own. His little room had been his sanctuary, but not anymore.

He watched as the sunlight faded and Konoha began to lit up one house after another, one street after another. The village looked bright and beautiful. Naruto had loved the view. It was full of the precious things Naruto didn't have.

He was resolved to be strong without them. What he never had he didn't need, so he should be fine. But being in Team Seven proved him wrong. He was stronger when Sakura and Sasuke was there. He stood taller when Kakashi-sensei was there to pad him on the head and congratulate him on a job well done. For the first time, he could ignore the accusing eyes and disdainful stares. They still irritated him, but he no longer took them as judgment. Besides, how could they judge him? They didn't know what jutsu Naruto could or couldn't do. They didn't know what missions he had been on. Those people had never tried to know him.

_Because Kakashi told me to... I don't care about the two of you anymore than I care about the flies outside my window._

And Naruto didn't know them either. He didn't care anymore why they want to hurt or kill him. After all, those people didn't eat dinner with him. Those people didn't helped him clean his room. Those people had never shared lunch with him. They had never been in near death situation with him. They never wipe his face for him when he was dirty and put him to sleep clean and happy.

_Were you planning on killing Naruto?_

Naruto could deal with being hated. He could deal with people wanting him dead. He could deal with people hurting him, hitting him, calling him names after nasty names. He could deal with being ignored. He could deal with being lonely.

_He is not my friend._

What he couldn't deal with was a broken heart.

/***/

After a check up and a lecture, Sasuke was released from the hospital late that afternoon with an order of 24-hour rest before he could return to duty. That was not before Sakura found him, slapped him, and told him how much of a jerk he was. Sasuke responded with a 'Hnn' which seemed to anger her even more. She stormed off without a single look back.

Sasuke was fine with that. He didn't need her. He needed to get stronger and she was only ever going to slow him down. However, the medical order meant he couldn't even go to training grounds, so Sasuke had to come back to his apartment.

The first thing his eyes set on was the couch.

Sasuke didn't use the couch often. Idling wasn't his thing after all. Normally the throw pillows would be set against the backrest, but they where lying about haphazardly that day. He remembered then that Naruto slept there the night they had hotpot together. His team. His friends. Playing house.

Sasuke sat on the couch, trying to erase the remnant of the night that he was so... content. Sasuke had never been content since his family died. He had restless nights and days and the feeling of incompleteness, but that night he felt all right. He felt like himself again before everything went to hell. Looking back, he felt like he indeed had betrayed his family. How could he be happy when his father and mother was dead? How dared he allow himself to be happy after their suffering?

He loved his family, loved them with all his heart and soul, and because of that he hated Itachi with all his heart and soul. That was why he knew killing Itachi wouldn't make him happy. He would never be happy again even if justice was served, because he would never have them back.

_No matter how much time has passed, we will always feel the pain of losing them. But it will get better with time. It never goes away, but you will learn to live with it._

Listening to Kakashi then, he could hear the tiredness in his voice. This was what Kakashi had done. He learnt to live with the pain and became a powerful ninja on his own right.

_Even as we grieve, even as we rage, even as our world falls to pieces, life moves on. You can choose to seize it and be its master, or you can choose to be its slave._

Had Kakashi mastered his own destiny? Wasn't having a goal and pursuing it with all his might mastering his destiny? What if he had to leave Team Seven and Konoha to do it, wasn't that taking control of destiny?

But what was a life, really?

_I just want a simple life. I was going to be a so-so ninja and earn an okay salary, marry a regular girl and have two kids, then I'll retire when my kids become independent and play shogi in my relaxing retirement. Those are just the things I want to wake up to everyday, that's all._

He closed his eyes and tried to imagine the life he wanted. He tried to think of revenge for his family, what it would be like to get up in the morning knowing the person who killed his clan was dead.

As he tried to imagine the rest of his life, he kept going back to the hotpot. He could smell the soup, hear the chatter. He could hear Naruto's laughter, light and bright, as Sasuke pinned him down on the couch and started a brief tickle war after learning that Naruto was ticklish. He had never seen Naruto so happy and carefree before. He had never felt that happy either.

_There is not a single person in our lives who can be replaced, Sasuke._

In his mind's eye the only thing he could see was a pair of bright blue eyes.

/***/

End of Chapter 15

**A/N:**

** Reign Of Sorrow** And much thanks to your continual support! Yeah, the boys are too inexperience to realize what's going on, I think. I mean, attractions are easy to notice, but love is much more subtle. Actually, don't ask me. I'm not even sure I got it pinned.

** Nuria Sato** I'm glad you like it! There won't be any overt NaruSasu/SasuNaru stuffs for a while yet...and I do mean a really long while, so I hope I'm not going to bore you to death before that. See you around. :D

** nekomode** Chapter 14 is pretty crappy, isn't it? I think the problem, aside from the lack of editing which I will get back to later, is the fight scene at end that throws the entire chapter out of pace with the rest of the story. I have so much problem writing it because the core drama of the fight isn't even about Naruto or Sasuke at all. I tried to make it about Naruto but it still comes out flat (because it fundamentally wasn't. Naruto was unconscious for the most part in the canon). Also I used Kabuto's POV whom I have no idea how he ticks, but I know I need his POV for later. (It really says something when I have an easier time with Orochimaru than Kabuto, isn't it?) I honestly don't know how to fix this one. I'm all open to suggestions on how to make it better.

P.S. I am not the Dark Lord but simply his humble servant. *flash rows of blackened teeth*

** AikahisakatuHogo-sha** I've always got the feeling that Sasuke was actually running after Naruto in that scene, but he's just too stuck up to admit that even to himself. *roll eyes* So...Naruto has a choking fetish?

** ZyiareHellsing** The reply is in chapter 13.

** SithLordNilis** _Mortal fool! Do you think you can defeat the masters of forces with your petty tricks?_

(By the way, unless we go somewhere with this, it is going to get seriously boring by the next bout. You got to give me some signal here about how much you know about the Lord of Rings universe (like, are you familiar with the books, or the movies, or Silmarillion, or the Unfinished Tales, or the History of Middle-earth?). Me with Star Wars is Episode 4-6 and that's it. I don't know anything about the universe that expanded from the movies. I also refuse to acknowledge the existence of Episode 1-3 and will cover up any mention of that three movies with a nazgul scream.)

** SupernaturalHearts** Thank you. Your support is what keeps me going, really. If you don't know what to review, you can point out the weak points in the writings or leave some suggestions as well. :D


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